H.—44.

Western Samoa. The following table gives in general terms the external trade for the past five years : —

It will be noted that the only adverse trade balance was in 1926. The United Kingdom is Samoa's best customer : £144,145 worth of goods were sent to the United Kingdom in 1927. Germany (£70,322), United States of America (£31,327), Australia (£8,200), and New Zealand (£7,628) were the other chief buyers last year. New Zealand uses only a very small quantity of the classes of goods exported by Samoa, and the amount purchased in 1927 is made up chiefly of cocoa-beans (£7,443). The value of the imports into Western Samoa from the main countries concerned was during 1923-27 as under :—

It will be seen that the United Kingdom is gaining and that Australia is losing trade. The quantity and value of the chief exportable products of Samoa during the past five years are shown below:—

The export of rubber from Samoa ceased in 1918 and has been re-established only in recent periods. The exports during the past year reached a figure more than double that of any previous year. Cook and Niue Islands. The Dominion proper does a substantial trade with the Cook Islands. The following figures show the value of goods purchased during the past four years bv the Dominion from those islands : 1924, £149,676 ; 1925, £126,465 ; 1926, £119,407 ; 1927, £113,396. The exports from the Dominion to Cook and Niue Islands amounted in 1924 to £96,757 ; in 1925 to £80,977 ; in 1926 to £109,636 ; in 1927 to £98,669. The total external trade last year was £254,963. Trade between|Cook and|Niue Islands and New Zealand in 1927 represented 83 per cent, of the total imports and exports of those islands. The principal items received by the Dominion in 1927 were oranges, £57,000 ; tomatoes, £19,000 ; bananas, £26,000 ; copra, £5,000. Samoa - Nine - Norfolk Island-New Zealand Trade. A new five-weekly service is being inaugurated between New Zealand, Samoa, Niue, and Norfolk Island by the new Government motor-vessel *' Maui Pomare," which left Auckland on her first trip to Samoa on the 26th June, ],928. Leaving Apia, the vessel will call at Niue, and from there proceed direct to Lyttelton, thence to Wellington and Auckland, making Dunedin her port of call, instead of

5

Year. i Imports. ; Exports. Total Trade. I I I £ £ £ 1923 .. .. .. .. .. 268,881 288,774 557,655 1924 .. .. .. .. .. 274,803 361,418 636,221 1925 .. .. .. .. .. 345,989 379,388 725,377 1926 .. .. .. .. .. 324,940 320,783 645,723 1927 .. .. .. .. .. 304,369 335,978 640,347

Year. Australia. New Zealand. United Kingdom. : America. 68 _ j_ _ l__ * £ £ £ £ 1923 .. .. .. .. 98,000 78,000 20,000 63,000 1924- .. .. .. .. 99,000 87,000 25,000 42,000 1925 .. .. .. .. 104,000 91,000 64,000 55,000 1926 .. .. .. .. 80,000 92,000 50,000 66,000 1927 .. .. .. .. 69,000 89,000 63,000 51,000

Cocoa. Copra. Rubber. . Calendar Year. ; Tons. Value. Tons. j Value. Tons. Value. £ £ £ 1923 .. .. .. .. 221 12,787 13,484 269,995 1924 .. .. .. .. 1,016 57,958 13,202 284,272 1925 .. .. .. .. 664 39,626 14,519 331,274 3 1,165 1926 .. .. .. .. 356 20,151 12,249 275,086 33i 6.702 1927 .. .. .. .. 792 48,216 11,665 24-2,672 158" 24,802