TRADE STATISTICS

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 33, 8 February 1935, Page 4

TRADE STATISTICS

CONFUSION OF VALUES

IMPORTS IN STERLING

The complaint of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce that the official trade statistics were misleading, because the pound now meant a different thing in the United Kingdom, in Australia, in South Africa, and in New Zealand, has been investigated by the Minister of Industries and Commerce (Mr. Masters), who, in a letter to the chamber, states that as from January 1 the Customs Department, in conjunction with the Government Statistician, is arranging for the value of all imports into New Zealand to be shown in terms of sterling in the official trade statistics (the "Star" reports). This means that all imports from Australia admissible as the produce or manufacture of that country, and therefore hitherto shown in Australian currency, will now be converted to. and shown as* sterling. For purposes of comparison an attempt will also be made to show in sterling values all imports entered during' 1934. In the official "Abstract of Statistics" this will in due course have the effect of eliminating the column, "recorded values," under the heading of imports. ' ■ .'-,..■

"With reference, however,, to the question of adjusting.the values of all imports to New Zealand currency," stated the Minister, "it is regretted that so long as ad valorem rates of duty are charged on the current domestic values in the country of export expressed in terms of sterling (except for the bulk of imports from Australia), it would not be possible, without an increase in the. statistics staff of the Customs Department, to make these conversions on approximately 200.000 import entries passed annually. I may add that the Government Statistician, in his monthly. 'Abstract of Statistics," has adopted the policy of showing export and import totals and the excess of one over the other in both. New Zealand currency and sterling, and the footnotes' are merely explanatory ■ and not essential towards ascertaining the true .trade position." He further states that the compilers of some publications often ignore the official figures of trade balance and work out incorrect ones for themselves—to the confusion, of readers. Any chance of misinterpretation that might have existed will be minimised by the gradual deletion of the imports columns relating to "recorded values."