LIFTING CLOUDS

Hokitika Guardian, 20 August 1930, Page 7

LIFTING CLOUDS

(Auckland “Star.”)

The latest news from the British and Continental wool markets should be decidedly cheering to the pastoralists of Australia and New Zealand. The iargo surplus stocks held in Germany, France and Belgium, the chief centres of tne Continental woollen trade, are being rapidly used up, and it is now predicted that these clearances will mean increased demand and keen competition among Continental buyers next season. £b far the indications do not seem to justify more than “mild optimism” but they at least encourage the belief that -so far as wool is concerned the tide is turning and that there are better times ahead in the near future.

As regards the Dominion’s wool trade it should he remembered that while the wool disposed of at the sales during the past .season realised over £5,000,01)0, about £1,500,000 worth was reported unsold. Of course, this valuation was made on the low scale of prices then ruling, and if the wool then reserved were sold at higher prices later on the returns would he correspondingly augmented. But even this does not allow for the large amount of wool which was never submitted for sale, but was deliberately held back for ail improving market. These causes account for a considerable proportion of the great falling-off in our wool export values Tor 1929-30, as compared with the previous year.

It is well to bear in mind these facts and figures in considering the present position and the future prospects of the Dominion’s export trade. ,The total fall in our export values for last financial year was about £8,600,000. But nearly £8,000,030 of this decline is to be ut clown to wool alone. There were special causes, which may soon he rectified, lor the falling-off of over £500,000 in Die cheese returns; and the decline in other export values, though fairly substantial in some cases, made very little serious difference to the totals in the final “balance of trade.” ; As a contrast to this decline there is an increase in butter returns, which have ma.de a record in both quality and value, in spite of a 12 per cent fall in prices. In gold, timber, kauri- gum, casein and mutton there has been a considerable improvement in the , returns, and the value of our apple export alone increased last year by more than £250," 000. In view of the general downward tendency of prices throughout the world these are very satisfactory proofs that our products are holding their own in | outside markets. Allowing for differ-1 ences in price levels, the volume of ex-! ports for 1929-30 is not far short of 50 [ per cent greater than it was in 1913-14, before the war; and :our success ill making up ill tile quantity of Mil* exports for the comparative decline in values is quite sufficient to warrant complete confidence in our industrial | and financial future, and to justify,

high hopes for a speedy recoverey from which we are now passing.