TRADE RETURNS.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20561, 12 March 1935, Page 9

TRADE RETURNS.

January Statistics Much Improved. CUTTER EXPORTS UP. Business statistics for the month of January are affected by the fact that, owing to the New Year holiday period, January is a short working month, states the Abstract of Statistics. Statistics illustrating the level of internal trade and business activity in January of this year generally indicate a much improved position as compared with January of the immediately pre--1 ceding years, the level of unemployment, in particular, being markedly lower than at this time last year. The total number of males who are partially or wholly a charge on - the Unemployment Fund was 52,086 on January 19, as compared with 64,856 a year ago, a decrease of 19.7 per cent. January was a relatively busy month in respect of export trade, shipments of butter meat being materially heavier than* in January of last year. There was, however, a marked fall in 'he exports of wool as compared with January, 1934, while exports of cheese were slightly lower. Primary Products. Statistics of exports of butter and cheese indicate that dairy production to date is somewhat lighter this season than in the 1933-34 season. Exports of butter during the period July, 1934, to January, 1935, were 4 per cent below the exports during the same period of the 1933-34 season, while a somewhat smaller fall is observed in the case of exports of cheese—viz., 2.8 per Tent. Meat exports, on the other hand, have so far been heavier this reason than last season, increases of 1*1.7 per cent in the case of lamb, 6.6 per cent in the case of mutton, and 18.9 per cent in the case of pork being shown during the last seven months as compared with the first seven months of the year ended June 30, 1934. The decrease in the case of butter and cheese is no doubt due to the exceptionally dry season, which continued up to the middle of February and consequently will also probably affect February exports. The increase in ex[ports of meats to date this season can probably be attributed largely to the late opening of the 1933-34 season, partly owing to industrial trouble, and partly to temporary restrictions on exports in the early part of last season. Prices of butter and cheese have recently shown a hardening tendency and are considerably better than was the case at this time last year, while the demand for butter in particular has been stimulated by short production in Canada and the United States. External Trade. \ A feature of the external trade statistics for several months past has been the buoyancy in imports. During the expired seven months of the curtent exporting season, the value of exports has.exceeded that of imports by snly £IBI,OOO in New Zealand currency, an excess of imports being shown in July, August, September, October and December. The busy portion of the export season is, of course, yet to come, but it would seem that the excess of exports for the complete export season will not be nearly as great as was the case last season, the excess of exports during the first seven months of last season amountir g to £6,917,000 in New Zealand currency, an actual excess of imports being shown only in one month last sr ason (September). The declared value of exports during the month of January was £5,075,694, as compared with £5,080,538 during January of last year. A decrease in the volume of exports of wool as compared with the previous January, combined with the low prices now ruling for this commodity, resulted in a fall of £968,734 in the total value of wool exports as compared with the value in January, 1934. Increased exports of butter and meat almost counteracted the effect on the total value of exports of the fall in the declared v tkte of wool exported, the total value oi exports being only £4844 less than ir, January of last year. The value of imports increased from £2,791.000 (New Zealand currency) in December to £3,214,000 in January, the highest January figure since 1930. Exports during the month exceeded imports in value by £1,852.000 in New Zealand currency, equivalent to £1,495,000 in sterling. COST OF LIVING. The general index number of export prices for the month of January states the extract of statistics, was 1037 (on the base: average export prices ruling during the years 1909-13 equals 1000), an increase of 22 points, or 2.2 per cent., over the index number for the previous month. The index number for the wool group, which fell sharply from 1041 in October to 750 in December, recovered somewhat in January when the index was 795. The all-groups index number of retail prices rose from 814 in December (on the base: average prices ruling during 1926-30 equals 1000) to 818 in January. The food-groups index, rose from 792 to 801, an increase of 1.1 per cent., groceries and dairy-produce contributing to this increase, while the index number for the meat group fell slightly. The index number of share prices rose from 1017 in December to 1027 in January, the highest figure recorded since November, 1929. The general wholesale-prices index number rose from 1338 in December to 1345 in January, the index number for locally produced commodities rising from 1333 to 1373, while that for imported commodities fell from 1343 to 1312. THE BUILDING TRADE. While the total value represented by building permits issued during the month of January (£257,272) represented a fall of £16,381, or 6.0 per cent., as compared with the December figure, the position in Januar} r really compares very favourably with that in the previous month. Permits for the erection of 233 new dwellings were issued in January as compared with 179 in December, the total value represented by these permits being 49.4 per cent, higher in January than in the previous month. The drop in the total value of permits is accounted for by a considerable decrease in the value of permits for “other” new buildings. The total for this item varies, considerably from month to month, since the commencement of even one or two large business premises in one particular month has a marked effect on the figures.