OVERSEAS TRADE

Taranaki Daily News, 30 November 1934, Page 2

OVERSEAS TRADE

RETURNS FOR OCTOBER RISE IN IMPORT VALUES. HIGHEST IN PAST FOUR YEARS. A move toward the normal relation of exports and imports at this season of the year is shown by the returns of overseas trade for October, a summary of which was issued by the Customs Department. According to recorded values imports were higher than exports by £640.307, and when the import figures are adjusted to a New Zealand currency basis the excess is greater, amounting to £1,340,000. The preponderance of exports over imports in October of the two previous years was not normal, for this, should be the season of active importing', with the exports not yet swelled by the flush of the spring production. The recorded value of imports was, in fact, nearly £1,000,000 greater than in October last year, while exports were valued at some £214,000 less. Following are the returns for October in recent years:—

FIGURES FOR TEN MONTHS. Returns for the first ten months of the calendar year show exports to have increased more than £8,000,000 compared with the corresponding period of 1933. Imports, however, have increased substantially, their value for the period being nearly £5,000,000 greater than for the previous year. The decline in import values, which had proceeded continuously from 1929 until last year, has been so signally reversed that the value shown for the ten months is the highest since 1930. Following is a summary of the returns for the last ten years:—

In spite of the recovery of imports, the apparent favourable balance continues very high being greater than for any equivalent period of ten months during the past decade. NEW PRODUCTION SEASON. The reversal of the trend shown in recent years is reflected to some extent by the returns for the past four months, f#jrresponding with the new production year. Export figures are lower, but the difference is not great, while imports show an increase which is little below £1,000,000. On the recorded values there is still an excess of exports as in 1932 and 1933, but the margin is less than half that shown last year. ’Die returns compare with those of previous years as follow: —

Official figures are expressed in New Zealand currency for exports, and partly in sterling and partly Australian currency for imports. Direct comparison does not, therefore, indicate the true position; nor Is an adjustment of all values to a sterling basis possible, since the proportion of imports valued in Australian currency is not revealed in the summary issued. An official return to the end of September gave the excess of exports, excluding specie, as £14,010,000, for the first nine months of this year.

Exports. Imports. Excess. 1930 .. £2.445,565 £3,691,583 £1,246,018 1931 .. 1,735,450 1,862,231 126,781 1932 .. 2,401,178 1,847,532 *553,646 1933 .. 2,378,855 1,854,223 *524,632 1934 .. 2,165,058 2,805,865 640,807 ’Excess of exports.

Ten months. Exports. Imports. 'Excess. 1925 .. £46,149,945 £42,980,176 £3,169,769 1926 .. 39,020,207 41,741,128 *2,270,921 1927 .. 40,259,995 37,272,274 2,987,721 1928 .. 48,445,630 36,715,283 11,730,347 1929 .. 48,134,089 40,764,226 7,369,863 1930 .. 39,576,645 37,040,126 2,536,519 1931 .. 29,004,574 20,960,260 8,044,314 1932 .. 31,087,830 18,913,231 . 12,174,599 1933 .. 34,217,648 17,578,487 16,639,161 1934 .. 42,803,179 22,355,689 20,447,490 *Exc6ss of imports.

JulyOctober Exports. Imports. Excess. 1925 .. £7,751,686 £17,964,891 £10,213,205 1926 .. 9,547,373 17,024,548 7,477,175 1927 .. 9,667,653 15,071,570 5,403,917 1928 .. 10,730,358 15,799,583 5,069,225 1929 .. 10,362,548 18,226,783 7,864,235 1930 .. 9,795,954 14,472,583 4,676,629 1931 .. 7,219,598 8,044,955 825,357 1932 .. 8,909,309 7,747,408 ■ *1,161,901 1933 .. 10,559,253 7,121,294 *3,437,959 1934 .. 9,781,112 8,072,936 ♦1,708,176 ‘‘Excess of exports.