IMPORTS AND EXPORTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2400, 1 March 1900, Page 4

IMPORTS AND EXPORTS.

The export returns for the December quarter show as follows compared with the figures for the corresponding quarter of the previous year, deducting specie : December December quarter, quarter, 1899. 1898. Totals for quarter ... £2,756,988 £1,891,670 —showing the reraax'kable _ increase of £865,318, probably the largest increase ever recorded in this colony for a single quarter. The three quarters of the financial year will now show as follow : — • 1899. 1898. Totals for June quarter ..! £2,846,954- £2,358,067 Totals for September quarter 2,020,560 1,6«.,«fr Totals for December quarter 2,756,988 1,891,670 Totals for three quarters • £7,624,502 £5,891,175 In commenting on last quarter's returns we predicted an increase of a million and a-half for the year. Those figures are already exceeded by over £200,000 in the nine months, the actual increase being £1,733,327. The details are as follow -. — Coal, an increase of £6692 (£18,402—£11,710); gold, an increase o{ £102,151 tUOIXdI—£229J43U kauri

gum, an increase of £4621 (£159,125-— £154,504) ; timber, an increase of £19,505 (£60,947— £41,442) j bacon and hams, an increase of £4688 (£7554 — £2866) ; butter, a notable increase of £93,548 (£239,744— £146,196) ; cheese, an increase of £15,276 (£31,646— £16,370) j hides, an increase of £3300 (£9964— £6664) ; and preserved meats, an increa.se of £6411 (£] 9,217— £12,806). In regard to frozen meats, the figures are most astonishing. Following increases of £175,000 and £89,000 respectively in the two preceding quarters, and in .spite of low prices, we now have the enormous increase of _£212 ; 232 (£467,212— £244,980). There seems absolutely no limit to the possibilities of growth in this important item of our export trade save the giving out of our flocks, of which there are no signs at present. Rabbitskins^ show an increase of £13,982 (£35,289— £21,307)-, and unfortunately there seems no end to these witnesses- to the continued prevalence of the rabbit pest. Sheepskins show an increase of £23,246 (£62,705— £39,459), and tallow an increase 'of £15,972 (£58,671— £42,699). Wool shows an increase of £126,734 (£746,112— £619,378), but this follows a deficiency of £75,000 on the two preceding quarters, and* the figures are no doubt affected by increased prices. Agricultural products show a very substantial increase of £169,151 (£254,667— £85,516). Oats account for £68,000, and wheat £80,000 of the increase, seeds about £8000, and maize and malt about £14,000 between them-, potatoes showing a falling-off of £17,000. Phormiuni shows an increase of £32,310 (£66,616— £34,306), which is largely due to increase in price, the average being £20 a ton— a very profitable figure.' It is not surprising that there are signs of unwonted prosperity all around us when our exportable commodities give us a million and three-quar-' ters more to spend within nine months of the financial year, and we can well afford a few horses and a few thousand pounds for the Imperial exigencies of the war. A footnote to the statistics informs us, with a touch of unconscious humour, that the export returns "do not include the value of horses, fodderetc., sent per Waiwera." These are, in' fact, unconsidered trifles.*

The import returns show no very large increase —

1899. 1898. Totals for quarter ... £2,282,945 £2,187,406 — but we have deducted from the past quarter's figures £117,515 shown in a footnote as sgecie. As the specie figures are not given for 1898, common sense would have suggested that we cannot exactly compare the two years. The difference in amount, however, would not be great. Dunedin shows up well in imports, the increase being £168,000, while Auckland shows a decrease of £10,000, Wellington of £17,000, and Lyttelton an increase of £37,000.