TRADE CONDITIONS

Hokitika Guardian, 13 August 1930, Page 8

TRADE CONDITIONS

I STATISTICIANS REVIEW. j ." ■ I j In his review of business statistics i for J uiie, tlie OovferniheiitJ Statistician ■states that, the banking figures of de- : bits placed to individual accounts (ex-. ■ eluding Government accounts) during the month of June show that the advance ill business activity in Mfty WaSbut temporary, and probably nothing [more than a carry-over of business from |April, as that month recorded an exceptionally heavy decline of 14.2 pei cent. Thb total df June is 10.4 per cent lower than that tor Julie, 1929 and :while both April and May of 1930 compared favourably, with the corresponds ing months of 1928, June records a decrease. The aggregate turnover fo r .the half-year is £8,000,000, or 7.4 per cent less than for the corresponding six months of 1929. Deposits for June, T 930 record a decrease of over' £50,000 j from May, 1930, and are also over 1£500,000 less than for June 1929, but are £3 j 000,000 greater than for June 1928. The jomission df Government deposits, however, brings the decrease for 1929 to nearly £3,000,000 and turns the increase for 1928 into a decrease of £400,000. Fixed deposits are at a record figure 1 and show an increase t of £333;000 for the month. Free deposits Ini-e; on • the ithcr hand, low for this [time of the year, and besides showing <a decline of over £700,000 from May, [record decreases of. £3,'406,000 and £2,■613,000 compared with June, 1929, and June 1928; respectively] Advances fell laway heavily during Mane as compared 'with May, the ratio of advances to deposits reaching its lowest level since lAugnst, 1929. | Exports for the six months ended June .1930 are £7,990,000 less than for [the same six months of 1929 and 'Vj,009,000 less than the average for [this period for the five preceding years. (The six-monthly totals for imports for J 930 and 1929 approximate very, closely [to each other, but the total for 1930 is over £500,000 below the average for the half-year for the five years 1925-29. It [is in-the figures for the twelve months [however, that the greater differences are to be seen, the total,exports for the twelve months ; ended June, 1930, showing a recession of £8;656,000, and imports an 1 increase’ of £2,320,000 ovei the year 1928-29. The total (for exports is nearly £5,000,000' less than the Average for the five preceding June ■years, while imports show an increase of - £740;000. The excess < of exports amounting to £6'781,000 for the twelve months ended December, 1929 gave waj |td. a- slight-excess of imports by March 31, 1930, and a more pronounced unfavourable' balance of £1,240,000 bj June 30, 1930. | .The present dairying season is a record one as far as production is concerned,'butter and cheese received into store for grading during the past eleven months, totalling more than the wholi production of the previous season. A comparison of the eleven months of the 1929-30 season with a corresponding period of the 1928-29 season shows thal While the increase tfor butter is 17.0 per cent, that for cheese ; is only 0.6. per cent. , / . Botn railway and shipping show a decreased return for the month, although the' shipping; figures are better than last year. The decline in building permits has spread to other centres outside 1 of-: Auckland,/ and bankruptcy figures show a sharp rise. Tlie declared value of exports for the month of June, 1930; is 17.3 per cent, behind that for last month and 9.6 per cent lower than that for June,' 192 y. The l cumulative figure for the six months shows a huge recession or £7,990;000 while that for the twelve months past is down £8,656,000] These huge declines are entirely due to decreased' prices, especially for wool, as record production totals are recorded in both tlie pastoral and dairying industries. Wool-prices realised are approximately 40 per cent lower than for last season,' a ifactor which has caused farmers to hold back their clip and extend the selling season over a longer period. At the end of June 135,000 less bales had been exported than at this time last year, while the total value declined by £7,200,000. The dairying industry also shows a fallingoff in values, butter receding £205,000 and cheese £656,000. Tlie apple-export trade is rapidly coming.to the fore, the quantity for the six months reavching 50,000,0001 b ,and the value £629,000. This shows an increase .of 18,000,0001 b and £182,000 over the record figures for the six months of 1929. Imports during June declined by 021,000 as compared with June of last year; but the aggregate for the six months has increased by £30,000 over the corresponding period of 1929. The anticipated decline owing to the unfavourable exchange rates and the general conditions ruling in the country is not yet apparent. The total for the twesve months ended June is £740,000 ahead of the corresponding figure for the preceding twelve months.