TRADE RETURNS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1766, 3 June 1913, Page 5

TRADE RETURNS.

VALUATION OF EXPORTS. Recently the president of: the Chamber it. Commerce (Mr. A. E. Mabin) and the secretary (Mr. H. D. Vickery) interviewed the Secretary for Customs (Mr. W. B. Montgomery) concerning possible changes in the'methods of preparing returns of exports and imports. The following account of what took place at that interview was presented to the Council of tho Chamber of Commerce yesterday:— _ "Mr. Montgomery intimated that'whon in Australia he. had. inquired into the practice adopted there in regard to valuation of exports. He stated that ho purposed asking the Chamber ; to-supply a schedule of willies of the chief articles of export at the. beginning of oaoh month to hold for thfit.moiith,, subject. Ifinricas .?#s&'! . J jV[r. Mabin pointed out tho difficulties which arose under the present' system, inasmuch as exporters did not. always .put tho true f.o.b. value; then, too, it was difficult to put -a value on produce sold under contract for forward delivery, it might be that goods were being 6old under contract at prices quite different to ourrent values. There was also the difficulty of valuing exports sent on consignment; and he pointed out that the method suggested by Mr. Montgomery would not overcome these objections. "At his - suggestion the Secretary for Customs deckled to keep in touch w'th certain export firms, and ask them to supply the Department with reliable prices for the products in which they dealt. Thus the,-meat companies would be consulted foT the values of meat, wools and tallow—some/of the principal wool-buyers for the average value of their purchases, 80 that sale wools and consignment wools could be assessed. Dairy produce would be dealt with in a similar manner. Hemp vould be declared on actual invoice wilue, and generally on such lines a truer value of each item of export could be irrived at.