THE TRADE YEAR

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 156, 31 December 1923, Page 6

THE TRADE YEAR

With the departure Of 1923 goes a period of, on the whole, excellent returns-for-all New Zealand, exported produce,, with the exceptions of beef and green fruits. Even the price for beef has much improved since the year opened; while it was nob always"low prices so much, as other factors in the fruit situation that" made the lot of the exporting orchardist so difficult. Figures for the full twelve months ended 31st December are not, of course, available, but there-is sufficient material at hand to" enable comparison to be made with the trade of 1922, and to justify an optimistic viewbetng taken of 1924 —up to, at least, the end. of July, when the shipping of produce is usually at its lowest. For the eleven months ended 30th November, the total exports of New Zealand products were valueH at £42,242,049. If the not extravagant figure of £3,000,000 be taken • as the value of exports for December of this year,""the. total should be rouhd about £45,250,600. The value of all exports, including New Zealand produce, parcel post and other, for the full year of 1922 was £45,583,005. The~pfincipal "exports of the Dominion for 1923 . (eleven months) were the main products of the cbuntry, viz., ': - £ Wool ;.... 10,052,124 Butter 9,124,879 Cheese 6,190,463' Moats 7,909,402 -■• -■ £33,276/868'The year 1924 will open with prices for all these commodities on remunerative levels (some of them a little more) for , their producers. The past year has been generally satisfactory, so far as the handling and dispatch xjf produce for New Zealand ports are concerned; and shipping tonnagej generally, has been sufficient. The values of the main products on the London market—still the dominating market—compare as follow:— End of Year 1922. 1923. Butter,- cwt. ".. 180s-184s 2625-2b6s Cheese, cwt 1225-124s 102s-106s Crossbred wool, 44' s--46's, per lb ....... 9d-lld ibdAld Prime Canterbury * lamb, per lb ... 12d llid Wether mutton, per lb 7a 7Jd There are enco.uraging signs of improvement in British industries, notably in the textile sections, and this is expected to increase, with the consequence that the markets for New Zealand products of meat and the dairy should expand. ; But it does not necessarily follow that higher prices than those of the past year will be received. In fact, the marketing of all dairy produce from this country during the coming year and, in a lesser degree, of meat,, will, require to be handled with the utmost care. Extreme prices, as the past two years have shown, in regard to both meat and dairy produce often • have a -sharp recoil. With respect to wool

the circumstances are different, for that commodity hiis-' outlets in many countries other than the United .Kingdom : whereas almost aJI the meat and dairy produce exported from New Zealand goes into the one British market, there to compete against foreign a-s well as other British Dominions'" supplies. The marketing of wool is simplicity "itself as with that "of meat and dairy produce. With the export trade has to be balanced that of imports. The'returns for 1923 are being closely watched, it is understood, by bankers. For the eleven months ended 30th November last, tlie value of.imports had reached to £39,786,241, whereas for the whole twelve months of 1922 they were £35,012,561. Estimating the imports for the month just closed at £3,300,000, the value of the total imports of 1923 should be in the vicinity of £43,100,000, or, say, £2,000,000 less than the value of the exports. This margin would be rather narrow. The position in any case will call for calm and careful review, and, if necessary, rather more than ordinary commercial prudence.

TKe Dominion must■' grow';" its exports must increase in volume; its .needs, as expressed in imports^ will grow too; but a close scrutiny pf the list of commodities imported will reveal that some of them, a fairly large number in the circumstances, may be regarded as inessentials, or, at any rate, not absolute necessities. There is also noticeable a marked decline in the Customs valuations of the prices of many articles when comparing them with rates ruling in 1921 and 1922. Some of them are of a description already made in the Dominion. The trading results as a whole for the Dominion for 1923 have been satisfactory; although some large private and co-opera-tive industrial and trading concerns have made heavy losses. The .Dominion is still learning in the school of experience. The lessons are "difficult, but they have to be mastered ; moreover, the school is one.in which no vacations are kept. The natural advantages of- the country are very great and much diversified; but .they require to be fully and rightly used and developed all the time. If prices for. produce are not materially reduced and production is increased' at the same time, there should be an easier year before those firms and individuals who are still engaged in the adjustment rendered necessary in their affairs following on the course of events that began in 1921.