The Manawatu Daily Times New Zealand's Trade Balance

Manawatu Times, Volume 60, Issue 176, 29 July 1935, Page 6

The Manawatu Daily Times New Zealand's Trade Balance

The Customs Department has announced the returns oi imports and exports dor the twelve months ended June JU. tie turns to this date give a far truer indication of our trade, than those for the twelve months ending -March 31. The returns just issued show that exports totalled £42.951,000 and imports £34.302,000, there being a reduction of £6,188,000 in the value of exports, compared with the previous twelve months. Ine lull in wool prices accounted lor the greater part of this drop. Last season s wool averaged only Old per pound, compared with 11 l-3d lb. the season before.

The most interesting feature of the returns is the pronounccd rise oi' 28 per cent, in the value oi impoits. i esc in creased by £7,600,000 to a total of £34,302,000. As a result ol increased imports and decreased exports, the surplus balance on the year’s trading totalled only £8,650,000 compared with almost £22,500,000 the year before.

A fact ail 100 little realised is that our overseas debt commitments require an export surplus of £12,500,000 per annum. For the past season we had only a £8,050,000 surplus, and have therefore, actually gone back by almost £4,0000,000 on the year’s trading. Indeed the true deficit would be c.onsideiably greater than this, lor the Jubilee celebrations caused a great exodus ol : tourists to leave our shares. There are no records of the balance of our tourist trade, but it may be safely calculated that on the past year there was' a debit balance of from £1,000,000 to £2,000,000.

For the coming year New Zealand will most probably show a further deficit. The import flood is now under way. and may be expected to continue for another twelve months. Iho bogey of surplus London funds, so much discussed when the Reserve Bank was established, is rapidly being disipated. Another year’s trade returns similar to the one just past will leave a very modest London balance. The argument that the exchange rate would prevent -importations and that the surplus London funds would remain for ever and a day is now proved to be utterly unsound. This was obvious to those acquainted with the trade returns of Australia, which country had exchange experience earlier than New Zealand. Fortunately, wc still have ample London balances to allow us a year or two of excess importations. The spending of this balance is a desirable trend and amounts to a modest fillip to international trade.