THE YEAR'S TRADE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17691, 28 January 1921, Page 4

THE YEAR'S TRADE

A complete view of the Dominion's external trade in 1920 is presented in the official returns from the Customs Department. They are so extraordinary and have such far-reaching influences upon the economic life of the country that they should be carefully studied. As anticipated in an article published yesterday, the imports in December were valued at £6,038,000, a slightly higher figure than in November, but otherwise the lowest since July. The total for the year, £61,596,000, is not only more than double the previous record of 1919, but is far beyond the abnormal value of exports in that year, and therefore presents the most remarkable feature in the commercial history of New Zealand. The quarterly returns give a concise view of the year's transactions:—, _ _ _ Exoeesof Quarter. Exports. Imports. lmipoxts. £ £ £ First . . 11.418.788 9,781.081 •1.627,727 Second.. 11,406.084 14,407,613 8,001,629 Third . . 12,860,695 18,980,970 6,620,275 Fourth.. 11,256,379 18.416,184 7.169,805 Totals i46.441.94S £61.696,828 £16.153,883 "Excess of exports. These figures show a nominal adverse balance of trade of over £15,000,000. It is difficult to estimate the true figure of this balance. The recorded value of exports represents with reasonable accuracy the net return to the country for its surplus produce, but the assessment of imports does not reveal the actual cost of the goods. The Budgets of recent years have adhered to an estimate of 20 per cent, additional to obtain the landed cost; if this figure is applied to the statistics for 1920, imports appear to have reached the enormous figure of £74,000,000, creating an adverse balance of £28,000,000, to which must be added the year's payments, approaching £4,000,000, for interest on the external public debt, and the unknown amount paid in interest on other foreign debt. These figures are so highly speculative that it is hoped the long-promised reform of trade statistics will be introduced as soon as possible, so that the periodical returns will show the extsnt to which the country is keeping within or going beyond its means. There will always be difficulty in assessing the " invisible imports;" the problem should not be aggravated by the official presentation of figures that, while serving the purposes of the Customs Department, are of doubtful value to students of the country's economic conditions.