TRADE WITH BRITAIN

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18586, 21 December 1934, Page 5

TRADE WITH BRITAIN

DOMINIONS’ POSITION

STATEMENT CORRECTED

(Per Press Association.) YVELLINGTON, this day.

• Statements made by the president of the United Kingdom Manufacturers and New Zealand Representatives’ Association, Mr. C. W. Budd, at the association’s annual meeting in Wellington, were replied to last evening by the Minister of Industries and Commerce, the lion. It. Masters. The Minister said that Mr. Budd had stated that “the figures for 1933 to the end of December showed that New Zealand benefited to the extent of £37,000,000 for primary products which were sold.to the United Kingdom, and on a very large proportion of that there was 10 per cent, preference given. Against those figures, New Zealand bought only £9,000,000 worth of manufactured goods, from Britain.”

Referring to this statement, Mr. Masters said the actual figure? of exports to the United Kingdom for the calendar year 1933, in New Zealand currency, were £35,571,509. Import? from the United Kingdom, which, in the official trade returns were expressed in sterling, totalled £10,839,903. It would bo observed that even the actual figures which Mr. Budd quoted were incorrect. “In order to make a correct comparison of figures,” said Mr. Masters, “it is necessary to express both exports and imports either in terms of sterling or in terms of New Zealand currency. Expressed in term? of the latter, imports from the United Kingdom in 1933 totalled approximately £13,550,000. This gives an excess of exports over, imports of approximately £22,020,000. Deducting £4,000,000, which is the average yearly re-export, gi’Jes a balance of trade of £18,020,(M0 in favor of New Zealand, but invisible items of import have to be taken into account, and this amount must be reduced by £10,000,000 for interest charges., Furthermore, inward and outward freights, estimated at £8,000,000, are mostly payable in or through London, and this further reduces the apparent favorable balance, and it i§ obvious that when the necessary adjustments are made, the position is vastly different from that represented bv Mr. Budd.