GREAT BRITAIN'S TRADE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23118, 18 February 1937, Page 18

GREAT BRITAIN'S TRADE

I . | RECORD FIGURES FOR 1936 MORE EXCHANGES WITH EMPIRE IMPORTS EXCEED EXPORTS (From Our Own Correspondent) (By Air Mail) LONDON, Jan. 23. , A pleasing feature of Great Britain’s trade in 1936 was an increase in exchanges with Empire countries. Figures Just issued by the Board of Trade snow ■ that the proportion of Great Britain’s j, imports consigned from British counI tries was 39.2 per cent., which was ap- | preciably higher than in 1935 (37.6). jor in any earlier year. The share of I her exports taken by British countries I also increased from 48 per cent, to i 49.2 per cent., which was also a record. : There was, however, a decline in reI exports from Great Britain to British ! countries. These fell from 19.7 per i cent, to 17.9 per cent. I Britain’s trade soared generally, imports exceeding exports. The value of her total imports last year was £848.9 million, an increase of £92.9 million compared with 1935. Total exports increased by £20.0 million. Exports of United Kingdom goods (£440.7 million) were greater by £14.9 million, and re-exports increased from £55.3 million to £60.4 million. Imports and re-exports were higher in value than in any of the preceding four years, while the exports of United Kingdom goods exceeded those in any year since 1930. i The excess of imports over exports I of merchandise in 1936 amounted to 1 £347.8 million, which was £72.9 mil- ! lion more than in 1935 and the highest I figure recorded since 1931. In each quarter of last year the excess of imi ports was higher than a year earlier, the increase varying from £l7 million to j million. j IMPORT INCREASES j Of the rise of £92.9 million in the ! total value of imports as compared I with 1935, £27.6 million was in respect 1 of food, drink and tobacco, £35.9 mil- | lion, for raw materials and £28.4 milI lion for articles wholly or mainly manufactured. The proportionate increases were 8, 17 and 15 per cent, respectively. The largest increases were recorded for grain and flour - (£12.8 million or 23 per cent.), dairy produce (£8.9 million or 15 per cent.), wool (£8.9 million or 24 per cent.), cotton (£8.5 million or 23 per cent.), wood and timber (£B.l million or 23 per cent.), non-ferrous metals (£5,1 million or 18 per cent.), undressed hides and skins (£4.9 million or 33 per cent.), and machinery (£4.7 million or 36 per cent.). Increases in excess of £3 million were recorded for the manufactured oils group, iron ore and scrap, and iron and steel and manufactures thereof Only three of the 43 groups comprised in the three main classes showed declines in the value of imports last year compared with 1935, viz. rubber (£5.7 million), fresh fruit and vegetables (£2.1 million) and silk yarns and manufactures (£0.5 million). Imports during 1936 of animals not for food were valued at £1.912.000, which was £250,000 more than in 1935. Imports by parcel post rose by £790,000 to a total of £3,245,000. GENERAL RISE OF EXPORTS Although exports of United Kingdom goods were greater in each quarter of 1936 than in 1935, by far the greater part of the increase of £14.9 million for the year was distributed almost equally between the last two quarters —£6.9 million and £6.6 million respectively. Last year, as in the two preceding years, more than four-fifths of the increase in the value of exports of United Kingdom goods, as compared with the previous year, was in respect of articles wholly or mainly manufactured, the increase for this class amounting in 1936 to £12.1 million (4 per cent.). Exports of vehicles (including locomotives, ships, and aircraft) increased by £2.8 million, the miscellaneous grout) by £2.4 million, woollen and worsted manufactures by £1.9 million, machinery by £l.B million, manufactures of ’textile materials other than cotton, wool, and silk by £1.6 million, and cotton yarns and manufactures by £1.3 million. Only four' of the 20 groups in this class showed declines, of which the only one to exceed £250,000 was recorded for non-ferrous metals (£1.9 million). Exports of food, drink, and tobacco were greater in each quarter of 1936 than a year earlier, the aggregate increase amounting to £4.0 million, of which £3.8 million was in respect of beverages and cocoa preparations, exports of spirits increasing by £3.3 million. Raw materials exported showed a decline of £1.5 million, but this was ’ entirely due to the decline in exports |of coal (£2,2 million). Undressed I hides and skins increased by £648,000 i and non-ferrous ores and scrap by £351,000, while for cotton waste and . raw wool and wool waste, etc., declines of between £250,000 and £300,000 were i recorded. Exports of animals not for i food, mainly horses, rose in value by £360,000, or more than 50 per cent., while the value of exports by parcel post (£ll.B million) was lower by £86,000 in 1935. Exports of machinery to New Zealand increased from 6.6 thousand tons in 1935 to 10.5 thousand tons. In 1929 New Zealand impprted 10.3 thousand tons from Great Britain. MORE BEEF IMPORTED The total quantity of meat imported last year amounted to 29.2 million hundredweight, as compared with 29.5 million cwt in 1935. Imports of beef, however, were 271,000 cwt (2 per cent.) greater than a year earlier, owing to an increase in imports of chilled beef from the Argentine, New Zealand, and Australia, oartly offset by a reduction in consignments of frozen beef frohi New Zealand. For mutton and lamb there was a reduction of 403,000 cwt (6 per cent.) from the quantity imported in 1935. smaller supplies being received both from Australia and New Zealand in the aggregate, although imports of chilled or frozen lamb from New Zealand were somewhat greater than a year earlier. , , , Imports of bacon have declined continuously in recent years, and the quantity imported last year was 357.000 cwt (5 per cent.) smaller than in 1935. Consignments from Denmark, the principal source of supply, were still further curtailed, falling from 3.0 to 3.4 million cwts, but imports from Canada and the Irish Free State continued to show an increase. Six hundred and seventy-two thousand cwt of bams were imported last year, as compared with 677.000 cwt in 1935. while imports of chilled or frozen pork rose from 915,000 to 1,025.000 cwt, owing to an increase in supplies from New Zealand and Australian MORE NEW ZEALAND BUTTER Comparing 1936 with 1935, a very slight increase was shown in the total quantity of butter imported, a reduction of 419,000 cwt (20 per cent.) in supplies from Australia being more than offset by an increase of2B2,ooocwt (61 per cent.) from the Netherlands and somewhat larger consignments from New Zealand and several of the less important foreign sources of supply. Imports of cheese continued to decline, being less than in any year since 1922. although the reduction as compared with 1935 was under 2 per cent. The quantity coming from New Zealand fell from 1,763,000 cwt to 1,681,000 cwt. Retained imports of sheeps and lambs' wool (650 million lb) were the highest recorded since 1922, being 7 per cent, greater than in 1935. Gross imports (914 million lb), showed a somewhat smaller increase relative to 1935, the increase occurring mainly in respect of crossbred wool from New Zealand. , , Exports of motor cars and chassis readied the record number of 88,600, being 16.500, or 23 per cent., more than the total for 1935, the highest previ-, ously recorded. The number of new ■ private cars exported totalled 51,200, :an increase of 7300 compared with i 1935; exports to New Zealand—as in 1935 the largest market—increased by j 5500.