WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 15 June 1931, Page 2

WELLINGTON NEWS

FALLING IMPORTS

(Special Correspondent)

L WELLINGTON, June 13. „/'lmports into practically all couiitr.es piave been diminishing in recent months, “the reason being that most Governments knre faced with deficits, and retrenchement a/nd economy .in ail directions is |a necessity and, with diminished spending power, there is contraction in doInitstic trade and consqeuently less goods ..are needed. The deficits shown by variItiip;.' Governments in their budgets are ! due to falling , prices of 1 commodities j ilepening the incomes of the people, and ; i foiling prices of commodities in their ffqrh are largely due to tariff barriers, i) fit ?}is a vicious circle, cause and effect closely upon one another. Redrfc| is not to be expected this year, but m nations are now beginning to get j ,1 and when they start a real , sfreo-joperative movenlent to deal with the I'depression, confidence will revive, and. I ..with confidence to back up co-operative the .depression will .soon begin to abeat a. retreat. y But to return to imports. Few people “realise how heavily the imports of the, 5 /'(Dominion have fallen in the four months j Hfor which official figures are available, j 111 the four months to the end of April, the imports of merchandise .into New 'Zealand amounted to £9,572,713 as coin. r. pared with £15,760,540 In the corre.v pondiing four months of 1930, and £15,<872 184 for the four months of 1929. i C 'Compared ■ with last year, , there is a shrinkage of £6,187,827 ; this is not far . |shovt of *4C? per cent., which is very . heavy. 'The value of the soft goods im- :] ported was £2,219,832, as against • £3,1498,019 last year—a decrease of £1,278,(187, or over 36 per cent. Hardware, .accounted for £1,254,920, agamst £2y220, l 225— a shrinkage of £965,355, or about )i 44 per cent. Foodstuffs form a small part of the total, and for the four Sfc* months amounted to £573,213, against 0 —a drop of £273,777, equal 'f to about 32 per cent. Beverages, anIp‘ other relatively small item in our irn-

jlii ports, were valued at £427,391, against P&',£566,111 —a shrinkage, of £138,720, or mO4 per cent. Miscellaneous items acI:; counted for £3,103,427, as compared with j§ '£5,753,044, the contraction being £2,-£-649,617, or 47 per cent. Other goods if totalled £1,993,930, as against £2,947,i^‘9sl— a decrease of £954,021, or about M id per cent. There is a substantial perrentage fall in each group, which is most unpromising. " Some of the individual items have, falTen very heavily, particularly the luxury goods. Thus the motor vehicles imported during the four months were

•valued at £344,959, as compared with '»*w<«a£!9s7,776 for - thd- four months of • last year, and £1,437,456 for the fdu'r months 6f 1929. The number of vehicles imported tvim 8,343 against 6,267 last year, uud 9,808 'in 1929. -Motw spirits were valued at £515,306, against £794,517 j rubber tyres £184,345 against £291,056. ||\ good many people who possess motor ci t ..|tvehicles cannot afford the running costs, ««lahd it is doubtful whether the registrations will show any increase—it is mote ifikely to be the other way. Some people labour under the fallacy that a de- ; fpression makes little or no difference s \ the consumption of tobacco and cigarbut figures prove to the contrary. | The tobacco imported into the Dominion | «in the four months under review was | r .{valued at ,£176,943, against £283,448 ; a shrinkage of £106,505, and the quant- | Y ity was 986,6071 b. against 1,083,4461 b. | Cigarettes mate a worse showing, the \ value of the imports being £68,792, | against £192,403 —a decrease of £123,- •>. 631, or well over 64 ■. per cent. One can j understand the decrease in cigarettes I and ' the contraction 'in the trade of 1 that line of smokers’' need's, for there I ~ is a large percentage of young single

i men who laffect the cigarettes, and, e dng out of work, ’cannot afford the ; luxury. It* is possible that the slump may be the means ■of Causing a drastic

change in the habits, .of young men. Being forced to abstain from cigarette smoking, they may find they are better , .off in health and richer in pocket, and I :;'may thus 'break with' the smoking habit I completely. (The imports of whisky show . a marked decline, the value , being £Bl,- * 477, against £15,076, and the quantity gallons against 139,093 gallons. But it is not luxury items alone that contracted," for mafty of the everyday requirements of the 'people have Bhrunk. The imports of apparel were Ivalued at £646,276 against £1,009,687; hosiery £147,903, against £188,609; galvanised sheet iron accounts for £89,733 "“'against £I67,LC ; fencing wire £24,7 o(, against £52,569 ; and barbed wire £15,850, against £30,349. The imports of coal show an increase, the'figures being £44,844 against £32,674. Retail trade for the nixt few months is p?sgimd to be dull, -but what vs perhaps |ipmrse, it may cause shipping freights to Since;’the beginning of the jjjjjffityr 12 of the/'''’large, direct steamer:, ffilijye come out in ballast, and it is jjpjralious that one-way l’ic.ght will not fy profitable to the sh : p-owners. rSI ' '