STEADY MARCH TO RECOVERY

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXX, Issue 20165, 20 July 1935, Page 17

STEADY MARCH TO RECOVERY

OPTIMISTIC SPIRIT IN BRITAIN REMARKABLE INCREASE IN EXPORTS British Official Wireless RUGBY, July 18. In the House of Commons to-day, Mr Walter Runciman (President of the Board of Trade) made a survey of trade and industry, in the course of which he reviewed the effects of the recent trade agreements and the prospects of further industrial recovery. He said that British trade figures showed, year after year, and month after month, a continuous growth, but there was still a long way to go to reach the figures of 1929. However, he viewed the coming year in a spirit of restrained optimism The United Kingdom exports for the first half of this year reached £208,000,000, against £189,000,000 for the first six months of last year, and taking articles that were wholly or mainly manufactured, the increase was not only marked, but was healthy. The exports in this class in the first six months of this year had totalled £160,000,000 against £145,000,000 in the same period last year. Home trade had gone on steadily throughout the year. The value of retail sales last year was actually 3 per cent higher than in 1933. This expansion had increased at the same rate during the current year, and the sales in the first five months were very nearly 43 per cent, higher than in the corresponding period of 1934. Mr Runciman said that Russia had far exceeded her undertaking by giving Britain an increased quota of exports and had chartered nearly twice the amount of shipping compared with last year. Sir Herbert Samuel complained that the Government had failed to secure trade agreements and tariff reductions with the great nations. Increased Exports. Mr D. J. Colville (Parliamentary Secretary for Ovex-seas Trade), in reply, said that in the first quarter of 1935, British exports to. countries with whom they had agreements had increased by £4,498,000 or approximately 20 per cent, eompai-ed with the first quarter of 1933 before the agreements were made. British trade with other foreign countries increased by only 7S per cent. He also detailed the exports under the Ottawa Argeements, which had risen from £100,000,000 in 1932 to £128,000,000 to 1934, including Australian from £20,000,000 to £26,300,000 and New Zealand from £10,400,000 to £11,400,000.