H.—44

The more important of our exports to the United Kingdom are set out in Table VI hereunder, which shows for the two calendar years 1936 and 1937 the quantity and value of our exports, together with the percentage of total imports into the United Kingdom of such items : —

Table VI.—Principal Imports United Kingdom of Products of New Zealand Origin, with Percentage of Total Imports of such Commodities into United Kingdom.

This table discloses some variations, among which are an increasing proportion of New Zealand chilled beef entering into the Home market and a falling-off of the frozen-beef trade ; a decrease in the proportion of frozen and chilled mutton which we supply ; a slight fall in the proportion of lamb, although some increase in the actual quantity shipped ; a fall in the proportion of cheese of New Zealand manufacture ; an increase in both the quantity and proportion of total imports of butter supplied by New Zealand. With the reorganization of the British agricultural and pastoral industries which is now being undertaken with a view to a greater production of foodstuffs care must be exercised in predicting future requirements of the Mother-country in these primary products Tariff adjustments on footwear imported from the United Kingdom and all other countries were made on Ist March, 1938, with a view to enabling local manufacturers to meet the very severe competition being encountered. TRADE WITH AUSTRALIA. The marked increase in the total trade between Australia and New Zealand in 1937 is very clearly set out in Table YII hereunder, and from this it is seen that the increase has been-in imports from Australia, which were £1,653,259 in excess of the previous year's values, while exports decreased by £19,292.

Table VII.—Total Trade with Australia.

The proportion of our total imports which were of Australian origin increased to 11-74 per cent., as compared with 11-19 per cent, in the previous year, while Australia absorbed only 2-74 per cent, of our total exports, compared with 3-25 per cent, in the previous year. The excess of imports over exports has shown a progressive increase over recent years, and stood at £4,770,389 in 1937. Australia, pursuing an expansionist policy in industrial matters, is rapidly developing into a manufacturing nation. Unfortunately for New Zealand Australia's vast spaces enable her to produce most of her requirements in the way of primary produce, which form the great bulk of New Zealand's export surplus. Imports comprise a fairly wide range, particularly of manufactured and semi-manufactured goods, among the chief of which are the following, figures in parenthesis relating to 1936 : Wire, £281,454 (£233,195) ; paints and colours, £93,291 (£84,966) ; boots and shoes, £76,732 (£82,379) ; iron and steel, £443,142 (£314,842) ; dried fruits, £338,860 (£329,523) ; canned fruits, £121,829 (£62,165) ; oranges, £157,197 (£83,767) ; wheat, £426,850 (£52,561) ; timber, £348,812 (£271,021) ; electrical machinery, £195,722 (£140,787) ; wireless sets, £124,823 (£97,609).

6

1936. 1937. I1eln ' Unit. Percentage IPercentage Quantity. of Total Value. Quantity. of Total Value. Imports. Imports. £(stg.) £(stg.) Chilled beef .. .. .. Owt. 228,263 2-6 320,301 307.451 3-4 547,648 Frozen beef .. .. .. „ 277,900 18-6 344,007 247,059 14-0 364,264 Boned beef .. .... „ 210,453 31-6 285,586 271,319 31-7 450,613 Tongues, &c. .. .. .. „ 23,299 3-18 49,820 23,686 3-2 45,562 Mutton, frozen and chilled .. ,, 888,864 66-1 1,616,778 861,832 57-5 1,637,168 Lamb .. .. .. „ 2,641,880 53-3 8,266,051 2,741,204 51-6 8,754,457 Pork, chilled or frozen .. .. ,, 579,086 56-5 1,500,208 592,648 56-0 1,740,074 Cheese .. .. .. „ 1,681,147 62-8 4,773,989 1,730,770 58-9 5,392,128 Butter .. .. .. „ 2,791,914 28-6 13,445,227 2,950,963 31-3 15,352,026 Apples .. .. .. ., 377,480 6-67 434,136 279,799 5-08 315,172 Wool, raw, sheep and lambs' .. 1,0001b. 233,595 25-6 9,358,333 180,570 23-0 12,036,197 Tallow .. .. .. Tons. 10,316 61-3 254,884 13,224 62-4 336,489 Hides and skins— Ox and cow.. .. .. Cwt. 59,419 5-6 150,475 33,669 3-4 108,428 Sheep and lamb, woolled .. „ 62,884 13-96 258,512 44,754 10-5 291,083 Other than woolled .. .. No. 2,890,356 58-3 314,435 2,658,843 52-4 374,143

5SKST I "KBEr b Z"e'4X" £(N.Z.) £(N.Z.) £(N.Z.) £(N.Z.) 1933 .. .. 3,969,403 1,393,311 2,576,092 1,182,781 1934 .. .. 5,120,640 1,882,516 3,238,124 1,356,608 1935 .. .. 5,739,209 1,781,811 3,957,398 2,175,487 1936 .. .. 6,784,788 1,843,475 4,941,313 3,097,838 1937 .. .. 8,418,755 "1,824,183 6,594,572 4,770,389