A.—3.

The following table illustrates the trend of trade in the Cook Islands and how it dropped during the years of depression:- Total. Year. £ £ £ 1925 .. .. ..130,609 151,939 282,548 1930 .. .. 103,468 109,438 212,906 1931 " . .. 69,260 79,945 149,205 1932 •• 63,585 73,409 136,994 loqq " 76,716 73,983 150,699 Ī934 ;; ;; .. 61,449 59,307 120,756 1935 .. .. .. 61,676 53,599 115,275 1936 .. .. 72,576 67,556 140,132 The figures show an increase in trade for the year under review as a result of the general improvement in economic conditions. . Copra Trade —Although the price of copra showed a steady rise until January, 1937, it since gradually dropped, and at the present time the state of the market is uncertain. In 1932 and 1933 the Administration assisted producers by reducing the copra-tax to 10s. per ton, and from Ist April, 1934, to 31st December, no tax at all was collected. The copra-tax of £1 per ton was reimposed as from Ist January, 1937. . The following figures for the years 1928 to 1936 show how the value of the copra trade m the Cook Islands has fluctuated. ■ r ,, Vainp Year. Tons Total Value. Year. Tons Total Value. Exported. £ • Qnn 1928 1 770 33,071 1934 .. 963 4,899 1930 " 2,143 23,478 1935 .. 1,353 12,882 1932 .. 1,294 12,340 1936 .. 689 7,458 Of the total of 689 tons exported in 1936, 353 tons were shipped to the United States, 273f tons to the United Kingdom, and the balance, 62J tons, to New Zealand. , The small amount exported in 1936 was due to the fact that 664 tons of copra was delayed unti. January, 1937, owing to lack of shipping. Exports. The following table shows the quantities of main exports over the last seven years .

Crop Prospects. —For the coming season the prospects in Rarotonga are for a light orange crop. In the Lower Group Islands prospects are better and there should be an average to heavy crop. SHIPPING. Overseas shipping at the Port of Avarua, Rarotonga, for the year ended 31st December, 1936 comprised a total of thirty-four vessels, twenty-three being the San Francisco_ mail steamers, eight the Union Steamship Company's cargo vessels, one local schooner, a,nd two cruising vessels In December, 1936, the Union Steamship Co., Ltd., discontinued the Wellington - San Francisco mail-steamer service, with the result that Rarotonga is now dependent upon the regular monthly calls of m.v. " Matua " and occasional visits by trans-Pacific cargo vessels. MEDICAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH. A full survey of the work carried out in regard to health matters in the Cook Islands from the time of the annexation in 1900 to the present time is set out'in last year's annual report. The following are extracts from the annual report of the Chief Medical Officer: Rarotonga. On the whole the general health has not been good. _ . The number of deaths from tuberculosis has been high, attributable to the food deprivation following the hurricane of 1935. ~ , There were outbreaks of enteric, influenza, and of chicken-pox, and a few cases of summer diarrhcea o c curred Influenza occurred in May and June (mild), and in August, September, and January (severe). The more serious forms were introduced from Tahiti by the San Francisco mail steamers. Enteric. —Paratyphoid B : 11 cases from Ngatangiia. _ _ Typhoid.—Seven cases, mostly from Avarua, occurred in spite of the improved privies. Typhoid-anti-bacillus inoculation has been carried out extensively as a preventive measure. Leprosy One leper died in December, and one case'was discovered and isolated in January. Tuberculosis.—This is the scourge of the Island. Death-rate 36 per 10,000. In spite of these high figures there have been remarkable recoveries, which, bear out Dr. Lambert s figures showing a fair

2

1930. 1931. 1932. 1933. 1934. 1935. 1936. Citrus fruit (Cases) 128,196 82,740 85,593 92,752 78,099 48,268* 75,390 Bananas 53 493 55,769 62,390 47,494 52,314 22,539* 49,431 :: ;; ».*» «.»$ "■«? 38 -»« Copra .. •• (Tons) 2,143 1,546 1,294 1,545 963 1,353 689 * Reduced exports due to the efiects of a heavy hurricane in February, 1935.