NEW ZEALAND TRADE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 13394, 30 May 1914, Page 5

NEW ZEALAND TRADE.

A REA&'SUBIN.a STATE^IENT.

; *'-. [wBiLINGTON, May 27< "Th4 trade pf; Ojountry,) shows a healthy and, ., ; satisfactory growth. The values of, the; staple ; lines .of export, avool, 1 meat} dairy jfjrodqq?, a,nd h^mp, constitute a, record jn ; pur history, due 1 partly to nioEeasedr-pr.oducjtipji and partly to the higher? price .-'.realised \in the world's ipa,i;ket."_ '. '. , ■ : .^. v i;;. .•. The a^qye .paragrapli -is taken ' from the address of. the;- president of ; the >yellinaton Chambor of .Commerce^ delivered at the a iinual meeting to>day. . .... L. "There. Vis one -aspect of ■. our national :trado" on whieh. I might offer a-.; ; fe.w rei.»:arks ? " added; the-. pre&ideht. pox't has boen made , ; up 'j to- September 1 30th, giving; the .total .^exports; arid iimfor the last five years, arid the excess of exports over imports in- each year. In 1908-9 the excess in round figures was 3| millions; in 1909-10, over b% millions; in 1910-11, it fell to a little over 1£ millions ; in 1911-12, it again fell, by' £200,000; and in 1912-16, it was only. £800,000. ■ • ''Nowjias-wo have to pay interest on omv foreign debts as- well as the cost of our imports by our exports, and as the interest on pur foreign debts must be soipewhere ■ in the neigiborhood of Uireo millions a. year, it might ■ appeal* on a Superficial gla,nce at these figures that our financial position is nob as stable as conl<l be wished, b'ufe ai Ettle reflection will .show that no suck inference can be drawn. For one, thing our fresh loans- come, out to us in the shape .of goods, and so swell our imports. For instance, when we raise a loiin .in London a! lot of it will gp to piy for steelrails or other equipment, which is tised here to increase t-ho (Value of a- national rev.enue-producing asset. Another : spuro«i of misunderstanding lies in the fact thatj while the value of our imports 1 riiay" ho : more or less accurately arriyed at by niearis !of customs invoices, the \jahies' given d.f our exports are largely a matter of guesswork.- What they actually: realise at Home may be considerably higher or lower than the value/ giyen ih-tho export j entry here. '.Tn' Wool 1 , alone : iKm differenoe may .run -into V million, or \b6, and there is- no doubt that for the year J912-13 the wool sent Home for Male did realise , much more thah it ;wa9, : yalue^ /,. ■ ' '■ „p^. ■ ;! ; 'v. • 'y. "Jt 7 is clear therefor* iHa^Vno satisfactory inference in either direction can be .drawn from the. ta-ble"' iiv the report; but at;, the same tlme.-it .will be admitted that it would be move pleasant, reading to see. a" greater excess of exports over imports." ,