AUSTRALIA'S TRADE

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 42, 18 August 1925, Page 5

AUSTRALIA'S TRADE

RECORD ESTABLISHED

FIGURES FOR 1924-25.

(FROM OCR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

SYDNEY, 13th August.

By a notable increase in trade for the financial year 1924-25, the Commonwealth iived up to her motto of "Advance Australia."' Trade for this period was valued at £308,203,576, an increase of approximately £58,000,000 compared with the previous year. The difference arose chiefly from the expansion in exports, which, at £161,106,----111, were over £41,500,000 greater than last year's, and this increase was made up almost exclusively of the products supplied by the man on the land. How a favourable season and satisfactory markets contributed to the wealth of the country is shown by the fact that butter exports increased by £5,000,000, beef by £2,500,000, wheat by £20,500,----000, flour by £850,000, hides and skins by nearly £2,000,000, tallow by £850,----000, and wool by £,7,000.000 As fruit exports, both fresh and dried, also expanded, it is no wonder that the general impression exists that country industries are better off to-day than ever before in their hißtory. That statement, of course, excludes gold-mining, which is decadent, but as prices of lead, silver, and zinc have been so satisfactory, exceedingly large profits have been earned by the companies operating at Broken Hill, with a consequent increase in the exports. While exports have been on such a j scale, imports have not lagged far be-' hind, as they aggregated £157,097,465, leaving an excess of exports over imports of £4,008,646. Imports of gold, however, totalled £10.510,879, so that, deducting, this, the merchandise brought hero was valued at £146,586,586. More than a third of. this was accounted for by the broad section of metals, metals manufactures and machinery, the increase of this section being nearly £2,000,000, almost all of which arose from the greater demand .for electrical appliances and machinery. Twenty-five per cent, of the total of the section, j was covered by importations of motor ' chassis, cycles, 'bodies, and parts. Almost another third of the total imports was taken up by another large group— apparel, textiles, and manufactured fibres —which showed an increase of nearly £4,000,000. The largest individual item covered the non-Australian products of cotton and linen,piece goods. Most of the remainder of the increase in the section was made up of an expansion of nearly £1,220,000 in .com and j flour bags. This arose from the larger ' supplies of such goods needed by the farmer and the greater cost of jute manufactures.