WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 15 June 1928, Page 4

WELLINGTON NEWS

FOUR -MONTHS IMPORTS

(Special to “ Guardian.”)

WELLINGTON, June 13

The imports into the Dominion exclusive of specie for the four months to the end of April last amounted to £14,316,607 which contrasts with £14,814,763 for the corresponding four months of last year and £17,541,368 for 1926. Compared with last year there is a decrease of about £300,600, hut compared with the four months of 1926 the shrinkage amounts to the largo sum of approximately £3,259,010.. For the first four months of both 1915 and 1926 the imports were valued at £l7.} million. It is the contraction, in imports that has helped to restcro the balance of trade. The recorded value of the exports for the four months was £29,700,258, and the recorded value of imports including specie, was £14,329,831, so that the exports exceeded the imports by £15,370,427, in point of fact the exports were more than double those of imports. "With the increase in export income the spending power of tlie country ought to have expanded. According to the weekly banking returns now furnished to the Government Statistician the net -note circulation was £6,459,449 and the current account balances to £26,119,017 or together equal to £32,578,466, 'and the aggregate showed a slight increase on the previous three weeks, but by the third week in May Ijhe note circulation had fallen to £6,039,304, and the current account balances to £25,025,244, the two together equalling £31,664,548 or a million less tlian at the end of April, which is not altogether satisfactory. Reverting to the imports for the first four months of the year the volnnio of soft goods imported was valued at £3,163,654, as compared with £3,020,331 in the corresponding term of 1927, and the increase'shown is not formidable.

Hardware accounted for £1.888,948 against £2,191,621, foodstuffs for £l,173,403 against £1,C00,473, beverages for £582,441 against £570,536, miscellaneous for £4,672,318 against £5,186,722 and other goods £2,835.903 against £2,835,385. The heaviest decline is the miscellaneous section and is duo chiefly to motor vehicles of which only 4585 were imported during the first four mouths of the year, as compared with 5597 in the corresponding term of 1927, and 9642 in 1926.

As compared with two years ago imports of motor vehicles have fallen off by more than 50 per cent, or stated in another way the average imports this year were slightly more than 1703 Vehicles per month, two years ago the average was 2410 per month. Notwithstanding this enormous decrease the average prices of motor vehicles have declined. Thus in 1926 the average cost per motor vehicle imported in the first four months of that year was approximately £l6l ss, in the corresponding term last year the average was £154 15s and this year it is down to £l5O 10s. It is very probable that the cost of motor cars and especially' passenger cars will become cheaper, for mass production is flic rage with manufacturers, and mass production necessitates mass consumption, and this increase ill consumption can ho achieved only by bringing the price down to correspond with the purchasing power of the masses. Keen international competition will also force down prices. There appears to be a steady decline in the quantity of whisky imported which seems to indicate that there is a falling off in the consumption of this spirt. In the first four mouths of 1926 tho quantity of whisky imported totalled 173,380 gallons, for the same period last year the quantity dropped to 158,719 gallons, and this year there is a further drop to 129,495 gallons, a decline in two years of 43,885 gallons or about 25 per ccpt. notwithstanding that the increase in population during tho period was about 52,000. To what extent the motor traffic has been responsible for this contraction it is difficult to say, but tbe substantial fines imposed on intoxicated motor drivorr. is compelling a, food many people to abstain from liquor. It is cheaper to forego whisky than to part up £2O or £25 to the Court.