DOMINION TRADE

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 138, 7 December 1929, Page 19

DOMINION TRADE

OFFICIAL REVIEW

COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY

/.The Government Statistician, in rerieiying the trade and finance of the Eomiuiori as at 31st October, says: Measured by the debits to individual accounts; Government . ac-counts)-in .the. banks of issue, the.national volume of business in October showed-a gain of 1.1 per cent, over the preceding month ana was on a level S.O per. cent, above that 'recorded for October,. 1925. , . ■Judged; by the output of butlerf'at, p'roduetion iv the dairying industry continues ou a level above last season, butter, showing a gain and cheese a recession. ' The 1928-29 meat export seaspti closed with a decrease in aggregate quantities and with relative values slightly abovo the preceding season. Eaildihg activity showed a recession irom September, but is above the level of activity recorded at this time last year. The present indications are that the 1929-30 wheat and oats harvest will'be'below 1928-29. -The relatively'plentiful supply of funds that has been the outstanding feature in the economic situation for some; months • now has given, rise to marked commercial activity in the employment of these funds. The landtransfer • and mortgage businesses are running on a high level, while bank advances/show a market upward movement that appears to be sharper than the customary seasonal gain. The import ' trade continues to expand, while internal trade as indicated by the railways' and coastal shipping shows signs of increasing activity. The price level sHo\vs, a slight recession, commercial ■failures, continue on a low level compared # with last year, and marriages £ot thd nine months of this year are considerably above the corresponding periods for the last" five years. I ' -DArRYING XNDtrSTBY. ' ;The;".three-monthry figures for the ' 1929j-3p season -reflect a level of pro- ! auction above that for 1928-29, which ] established-new-records. The grading figures ¥&; October showed a gain of ' 13jO perlcant.for butter and a recession ' of 4.3 per cent, for cheese as compared ' ■with the corresponding month last year. This brings the three-monthly cumulative figures for butter 8.0 per cent. 'aboye,_: Md:'for cheese 14.0 per cent, below, the comparative figures for the 1928-29 season. • Bearing in mind that 1928-29 was an early and generally propitious, season, and that 1929-30 is generally regarded as being, so far, less favourable, it is rather striking evidence of an, advance in farming • technique that the butterfat produc- : •tign (based on the grading figures) : shows a gain of 1.9 per cent, so far for - 2929-30 as compared with 1928-29. , ,;The weekly average market quotations on the London market for New Zealand salted butter show 183s 6d for • Optober against the same figure for ' October, 1925, and 181s for September, 1929. Corresponding' figures for cheese ; show, a,considerable weakening in the t market as ■ compared with last year, ] but^the immediate position indicates 4 firmness. The quotations for white , cheese'show 943 3d for October against Ills 6d for October,'l92B, and 93s 3d ior; September, 1929. . Frozen meat expoet trade.: s ;The statistics relating to the 1929-30 ' meat.export season show in comparison ' with .those for 1928-29 a gain of 2.2 •' per cent, in quantity and of" 3.9 per ] cent, in value for frozen lamb, recessions ; 0f.9.0 and 4.9 percent, rospeetivc- , ly for frozen mutton, and substantial ' decreases of 49.9 and 44.6 per cent. , respectively in the quantity and value \ of; frozen beef. Values appear to ' have been maintained on a slightly ] higher.level than during 1928-29. J With the Dominion's flocks just over 1 the 29,000,000 mark last April there ' appears to be every prospect of an expansion in the mutton and lamb exports during the 1929-30 season. 1 . WHEAT, OATS, AND POTATOES. J 'Judging by the statistics available, \ the wheat and oats crops for 1929-30 will be below 1928-29, the recession being probably more marked in wheat 1 than in oats. Estimations of the areas „ sown, based on data furnished by growers, point to approximately 2.34,500 acres for wheat and 275,000 acres for oats; the actual areas recorded for 1928-29 wero 257,873 acres for wheat and 283,133 acres for oats. For various reasons the potato crop is more diflieult to estimate than j either wheat or oats. The area esti- , mated for 1929-30 is approximately \ 22,600 acres, against 21,304 acres ac- t .tual area last year, so that in normal < circumstances an increase in the potato s crop may be.recorded for 1929-30. ' 7 OVERSEAS TRADE. ] ■■ by the volume' of exports 1 and imports, the overseas trade during * the month of October showed a sea- ' sonal recession from September and a gain of 6.8 per cent, over October, 1928. The aggregate for the ten months of ' • this year is, 4.4 per cent, above the \ figure.for the corresponding period last ; year. '• ■ • ( -■The -value of commodities exported ' during October was 4.0 per cent, below • the preceding month and 10.7 per cent. \ ■ below the same month of last. year. J The .ten-monthly cumulative ana ' twelve-monthly moving totals show re- j Cessions of .0.6 and 1.4 per cent reepectively. ' j ; Although the recorded value of im-. < ports 'showed a recession from the high < figure recorded for September, it < showed a substantial gain of 20.0 per ' cent, over the corresponding month of ' •■ last year. This high level of activity ' in the import trade, although a feature 1 of ; the immediate trade situation, is j part, of an upward trenu that has been ; ■ aisclosed in the e*atistics for some mouths now, and which, according to : past experience, will continue for some ' months to. come. The ten-monthly 1 cumulative .figures for imports show a ' gain of 11.0 per cent, over 1925, while ' ■ the twelve-monthly moving totals are ' 10;6per cent, above the corresponding ' period ending in 1928. < l .; The slight downward trend in the \ export trade as measured by the recorded value, and the pronounced up- i ward trend in activity in the import - trade, : ar.e reflected in,amuch.diminish- ! cd favourable "visible" balance of trade. This balance stood at £6,941,731 ' . for^the twelve mouthß ended October of . this year, against 512,456,034 for the .preceding twelve months. . '

by the volume' of exports and imports, the overseas trade during the month of October showed a seasonal recession from September and a gain of 6.8 per cent, over October, 1928; The aggregate for the ten months of this year is, 4.4 per cent, above the figure.for the corresponding period last year. .'••.■ •

:.,;In late autumn the Siberian natives kill great numbers of wild geese, which are moulting preparatory to their migration south and fly with difficulty.

v Every" ton of coal burned in a locomotives fire-grate boils eight tons of water. Four tons of coal are required to take an -express train from London to Plymouth.