OUR PRIMARY INDUSTRIES

Manawatu Times, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 12807, 3 June 1914, Page 8

OUR PRIMARY INDUSTRIES

A REMARKABLE EXPANSION,

Press Association. —By Telegraph. DUNEDIN, June 2.

In the course of a speech at the opening of the Winter Show, Mr Massey, gave interesting particulars as to the remarkable expansion of the Dominion's primary industries. For the year ended 31st March, the value of the principal products was £22,112,996, and the total increase in products and miscellaneous exports compared with the preceding period was almost a million and a half. He showed that the proportion of agricultural exports to total exports was remarkably high, increasing from 25 per cent, in 1863 to 7(> in 1893, and from 77 in 1903 to 85 in last year. The export of wool for the veai 1 ended 3isi March was valued at £7,500,000, an increase compared with the export ten years ago of 17 l ,-_> per cent, in quantity and 67% per cent, in value. The increase in frozon meat for 1913-14 was £361,252, the highest for ten years. Regarding the lamb, the'increase of value compared with ten years ago was 135 per cent., while in beef, compared for the same period, the increase was 109 per cent in value. New records were established in butter and cheese, the value increasing over 50 per cent in ten years. As regards cheese, compared with ten years ago, the Dominion was exporting more than 8% times the quantity and more than lOVj times the value. He believed that before long the export of cheese would reach the enormous total of 500,000 tons annually. In fruit the acreage under culture increased from 36,967 acres in 1912 to 41,646 this year. The export in 1912 was 15,069 cases; this year the quantity was 85,000 cases. For the twelve months ended 31st March, 25.000 cases of apples were exported to Monte Video. Considerable quantities were also going to Rio, Vancouver, and San Francisco.