BRITISH EXPORTS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23851, 30 December 1940, Page 3

BRITISH EXPORTS

DISCRIMINATIVE SALES

DOMINIONS' PART EXPLAINED

It has become necessary in certain circumstances that foreign customers should have preference over Dominion and colonial customers for British, exports.' The Australian Association of British .Manufacturers in its annual report Ogives the reasons. Tli[; association feels that it is incumbent upon it to give reasons because in tin.; past it has urged Australians to buy ;' British goods oi. all kinds as a contribution to the war effort. With the passing of time, however, the need for increased British holdings of nonsterling currency iias proved overwhelmingly the most important exchange problem and one that may be expected to grow yet more acute. A greater measure of discrimination must now be shown by the United Kingdom as to the destination o! its exports in certain circumstances. Consumption within the Empire (whether it be in the United Kingdom or a Dominion) of goods which could otherwise be s< Id outside the sterling area quite obviously implies the loss of potential holdings of non-sterling currency. Jiv no means all United Kingdom goods will be in short supply, and the association declares that it is just as important now as ever it was for the Dominions to support with their purchasing power those British industries which have goods available for export. Only the United Kingdom Government is in a position to say which particular British export commodities must be restricted for export to the Dominions. When any particular class of British goods is available for export to the Empire that fact may be taken as prima facie evidence that the war effort would not bo assisted by the curtailment of purchases of such goods and consequently that such a curtailment would serve no better purpose than to render idle workpeople and machinery in the United Kingdom. For these reasons tho Australian Association of British Manufacturers asks buyers not to assume that British goods are hard to get, but to make inquiries of the representatives of the manufacturers or of the association.

RISING EXPENDITURE

BRITAIN'S HUGE TOTAL

SUPPLY SERVICES* INCREASE British "Wireless LONDON, Dec. 25 Exchequer returns disclose that expenditure on® the supply services for the financial year from March to date is more than three and a-half tunes greater than that for the corresponding period last year. Uevenue from the income tax and surtax shows an increase of almost 74 per cent. The total ordinary revenue to December 21 was £719.029.529, compared with £5.34.006.516 for the corresponding period a year ago. including £198.732.000 from income tax and surtax. against £114,416,000 last. year. Total ordinary expenditure was £2.596.508.710, compared with £838.503,150, This included £2.390.3 !8.499 for the supply services, against £639,062,545 last year. DAIRY LANDS TRANSFORMED GOOD NEW SOUTH WALES RAINS Bountiful rains along the eastern seaboard of New South Wales_ have brought about a transformation m the dairving industry. Feed is now growing rapidly, and production increasing in every district. _ Recent reports from senior dairy instructors speak most hopefully of the prospects for the summer, although several of them point out that it will take time for stock to recover from ihe gruelling time experienced throughout the winter and spring, and to get back to normal production. WORLD WOOL MARKETS WARTIME PRICE ANOMALIES The war has produced some extraordinary wool market developments,, Winohcombe Carson, I/imited, an Australian wool broking firm, reports. In times of peace the world's wool markets are more or less on the one basis. At times during the past year Japan has been able to buy the sheep's staple in South America at lower figures than the British Wool Control has_ been charging millmen m Great Britain foi similar type raw material. As a result, the Japanese manufacturer has been able to soil yarns and fabrics to South American customers at lower figures than his English competitor, if. as has boon proposed, the I nited States and Great Britain jointly buy the South American clips, the price anomalies quoted would disapjioar. The wool trade in the United States is very busy. During October the weekly average consumption of apparel wool was 10 per cent higher than the avern during the preceding nine months. That activity is expected to be maintained for some time.

EUROPEAN WHEAT CROP 20 PER CENT FALL ESTIMATED LOXBOX, Dec. 22 Official estimates of tin- now season's wheat crop in Europe agree "that the production will bo about 1 ~'575.000.000 bushels This is one-fifth loss than the production of tho previous year. Production in the Danube hasin lias failed spectacularly. .Bulgaria was the onlv south-eastern country to equal ilie 1939 production, Rumania, Yugoslavia and Hungary report reductions of It? per cent, 38 per cent and 31 per cent respectively on previous crops. France has not grown sufficient wheat even for her own requirements. and there exists an acute lack of stocks in Belgium, Holland. Denmark. .Sweden, Norway and Finland Altogether, the Continent is short of about 300.000.000 bushels, with little hope of securing more, except possibly from the Soviet. UNITED STATES' RECORD (Received December 2i\ i>.3o p.m.) WASHIXGTOX, Dec. 2S Tho Fnited States Department of Agriculture forecasts a record 1941 American wheat supply of 1.'230.000,000 bushels, providing a 500.000.000 bushel surplus. Supplies for the 1910 crop were estimated at 1,100.000.000 bushels. The 10-11 figure comprises 830.000.000 bushels, plus tho 400.000,000 carryover. HUME STEEL OUTLOOK A confident view of the future of Hume Steel, Limited, was taken by Mr. L. J. Cliffu/il, the ihairmau, at tlie annual meeting in Melbourne, Because of the large volume of work in hand, dividend on ordinary shares is expected to be maintained at its present rate for the next two years, Mr. Clifford said. LONDON COMMODITY PRICES (Received December 20, n.30 p.m.) LONDON, Dec. 2S Friday's closing prices in the commodity markets were:—Rubber: Para. 13d per lb: plantation, 12d. Cotton: Spot, o.S'Sd per lb. Turpentine is in small supply and the market is nominally about 6Ss tici per cwt.