OTAGO'S EXPORT TRADE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11402, 20 April 1899, Page 8

OTAGO'S EXPORT TRADE.

. TO THE EDITOR.' • .' | Sir,—Tlie enclosed cutting from, the Loft« ( don Financial News of March 10,. may prove of interest; and instruction to'many who p<; r- ' haps have not the opportunity to study, tlie | receptive capacity of the United Kingdom. When- one reads of close on £25,000,050 worth' of wheat alone, and £2.300,000 worth of oats, £4,677,341 of fresh beef-.being imported from tlie .United States • alone in 1898, it may ease the minds of New Zealand shippers to know there is " plenty of room." for " our surplus commodities." What Otago requires is direct transit from the railway sidings to ship's side. No handling or expensive cartages, and a substantial reduction in export wharfage rates and port charges, to successfully compete with other New'Zealand1 porls.I—l am, etc., Meboatob. ' Dunedin, April 19. • ■ : :'' '~ .. The following table shows the value of lea 3« ing articles imported into the United Kingdom from the United Slates in the calendar year 3S9S, compared with 1897, as showri;.by the " account of trade of the United Kingdom " for the month of December and the calendar year, just received by the Treasury Bureau of StAtiaArticles. : 1597. ! 1898. * Wheat .. .. £20.193,864 - £24,743,021 < Bacon,. .. .. 5,351,624' 6,438,239 Lard .. ..■ 1,927,162 ■"■ 2,798,281 Copper, unwrought 1,474,578 2,058,820,. Raw cotton.. .. 24,557,513 •. .27,513,032 Leather .. .. 2,C(/(S,4OG 3,936,811 Hams .. .. . 3,-111,559 ,■: 3,651,414 Hops... 280,453 . , ; • 838.074 Tallow and stearine 240,617 ~ , ■ 538,243 Fresh beef... .. 4,609,130 ' 4,677;311 Indian'com .. .. 6,G23,230 .- 7j314,935 Oats . .. ..1,913,478 : 2,294,021 "The reductions in imports from the United jKingdom are, however," the Tribune claims, '"merely an incident of the general reduction in imports, which during the., calendar yeajf. were 107,G37,000d0l less than those- of 1897. 'Indeed, the United -States in proportionately to her imports a better customer of', the United Kingdom than the average foreign, country,. The countries of the world, omitting the British, colonies, took only 15 per cent, of their imports from the United Kingdom, while the United States in 1893 took over 17 per cent, from the United Kingdom. Indeed, purchase^ from that country were far in excess of those from any other part of the world,. being 50 per. cent, in excess of those from Germany, double those from Prance, more than the total from Asia, Africa, and Oceania combined, and more than one-third of the entire importation from