OUR IMPORT TRADE

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2955, 15 December 1916, Page 23

OUR IMPORT TRADE

BRITAIN'S SHARE

INCREASING DESPITE THE WAR

Much as they are handicapped by the war, British manufacturers are retaining their hold upon the New Zealand market to an extent which warrants a confident hope of still greater achievements in this direction when the war is over. Our importations from other sources have materially increased in recent times, and as a consequence importations from Britain have not increased in value to the same relativeextent as imports from some of her competitors. But the increased value of British imports 'during the. latest period for which particulars are available is in itself 'substantial, and,_ absorbed as she is in the war, Britain is still supplying close upon fifty ner cent, of New Zealand's total imports from abroad. Some figures lately published in the "Board of : Trade Journal" show that the imports of the Dominion for the first half of the current year were valued at £11,970,000, or an increase of £2,461,000, equal to 25.9 percent. Commenting upon the position in a recent issue, the 1 "Financial Times" remarked:, "It is very creditable to this country that the United Kingdom's total of the trade to New Zoaland, in spite of all difficulties, was £5,938,0U0, being an increase of £1,226,000, 'or 26 per cent. Other countries have naturally shown a greater relative advance; thus the United States total is £1,902,01)0, an increase of £730,000, or 62.3 per cent., while Japan has done even better having raised its figure from £89,000 to £185,000, an advance of over 109 per cent. With all this competition, however, our share of tho import trade for the six. months was close upon 50 per cent., against loss than 16 per cent, for the United States and only 1.6 per cent, for Japan. As regards America, however, a note of warning is uttered by H.M. Trade Comltiißsioner, who States that In certain lines American firms have gained a footing in New Zealand from which it may be difficult to drive them. For the most part, however, this gentleman is reassuring, and lie considers that in the main the diversion of trade has been only temporary and that business Wjll repumo its former channels when conditions become normal again. The repfirt contains an interesting reference t6 the Japanese imports of New Zeafand.