WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 2 June 1930, Page 2

WELLINGTON NEWS

THE TRADE RETURNS

'.Special Correspondent.’)

WELLINGTON. May 29

Tlio trad" returns for April last wer,- released last week and do not, make pleasant reading. The exports for the mouth tot;i I'--0*1.948,789 as icampnred with £5,505,999 in April last year, a decrease of £1,057,210. The figures for a single month are not of much practical use to judge by, but as with the end of April seven months of the present season have closed we can get a. better idea from the fi nr ur"s how we stand, and what we are to expect. For the seven months the exports amounted to £31.442,399 as compared with £40,128.125 for the corresponding seven months of the previous season, showing a fall of £8,685,723 which is rather l'i".

Practically the whoh* of this shrinks- - has occurred in fbo four months •Tanmirv-\pril, the exports for that period being. £21,518.115 as compared with £29.008,571, a drop of £8,090.456. But in considering these figures allowance must be made for the fact that a certain quantity of produe 0 that could have b°en exported in the four months h"= w>on held up. and this is rmrtieularlv the ease with wool, so that the decline appears worse f v, "U it really is. The position with regard to imports is-satisfactory for at "15.764,552 they show a fall of £107.632. Imports will continue to fall, in any case for the period under review exports ex* oecded imports (by £5.753.363 while a year ago the excess was £18,736,387. The I>°lance of trade is in our favour, hut when the in visible items are taken into '-'.count the position is not so satisfactory.

It is obvious that the "current season;, which for statistical purposes ends on' September 30, will show a pronounced drop unless in the meanwhile prices ascend, and of that there i° little prospect. The fall in our produce prices is the effect of world dullness and is particularly due to the dullness in Britain. The United Kingdom has been unable to expand her exports, that is she has been unable to sell goods, mainly because her costs of production Prevent her competing successfully with foreign countries.

As Britain lias been nimble to sell she cannot buy all that she wants at (he old prices; Those who want to do business with her must sell at prices sho is able to pay because her purchasing power is impaired. Because Britain has been unable to freely sell her goods abroad she has been' unable to Ibuv our produce at the prices we would like to obtain from her and 9o wo are suffering. We cannot improve those prices, and they will net improve unless Britain’s export trade improves, of which there appears to be little Immediate prospect as unemployment is increasing, and so we must make m our minds for low prices unless 'of course we can find additional or substitute markets which is a forlorn hope. The question for us to consider is whether we will carry on as at present In the hope that things will improve, or will we take the other course ai%J admift that low prices have come to ,stav, and take steps to extract a profit from the present low prices. The '’latter will involve na-tion-wide co-operation and sacrifice. According to the Unemployment Committee which recently considered the problem the road to recovery is to tax the people to .provide doles for the workless under elaborate safeguards which wil] he easily removed by time-serving socialists. The Committee also recommended standard wages for relief works. Standard wages are apparently the wages fixed by the Arbitration Cou.il last year or the year before, Tf standard lyagcia -are paid on relief works they must be paid on all works private and public. In effect the Committeo contends that the country can afford to pay standard wages to those employed on relief works and pay taxes to provide doles for those unable to find work notwithstanding that the national income derived from exports lias fallen by over £8,000,000 in four months, New lien laud is a wonderful conntry but we have yet to learn to squeeze a gallon out of a jiint pot. But our conditions are not really bad if we may believe Mr L. D. Ritchie, President of the r> 1 m-bite Institute of Otago, who believes that though recovery may ho slow, the bottom lias been reached. When Dunedin is obliged to have soup kitchens the limit is reached.