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'33ie Eegiater Office, ThujBday.
KDSERAIIAN IMPORT TRADE.
The senior British Trade Comnnasioner
5a Australia (Mr. S. W. B. McGregor)
has issued informative figures respecting
British export trade in. the half-year «adeil
Jane 30, with special relation to business
frith the Commonwealth. Of particular
moment is the impdied dependence of
Australia on other countries for supplies
of textiles, iron and steel, and other goods.
Thia is evident, first, from, the following
tabulation of exports ifrom the United
Kingdiom to various countries for the
first half of the current and last year: —
1921. 1922.
, , ?' £ £
Woollen Tissues—
Japan .. I .. .. 1,063,417 2,260,948
Australia .... .. 1,024,893 1,364,609
United States .... 1,216,996 873,352
'France ? 835,661 795,228
Canada ? .. 576,774 709,838
Netherlands .... 504,904 615,317
Worsted Tissues— . . , .
Canada ? 905,482 1,415,744
Japan,. ? ... 376,819 795,475
United States ? 880,277 633,087
Australia .. .. .. 427,822 569,380
Carpets — . ?'.-._???
Australia ...... 542,253 399,288
.United States.. .. 204,041 192,029
Canada . . . . ,y . . 145,344 175,411
Siik Piece Goods
Australia, .v.. .. 14,026 132,762
France .. .'A'.. .. 56,593 81,477
Canada ......:. 13,083 83,594
'Australlia, vrith a population of about
530,000, bought in- the six months
; £427,550 more of British -woollen and
worsted goods than America, with a popu
lation of 105,000,000, and only less by
£291,593 than the amount purchased by
Canada, which has a population of nearly
9,000,000. and no raw Wool supplies for its
factories at all comparable to that pro
duced in Australia. In purchases of cotton
piece-goods Australia «omes third in the
comparison (after India and China) with
£5,673,376 for the «ix months ended June
Sft or £977.986 more than the amount for
the correspomJiHg period of 1921. The ex
ports of British linen piece-goods to Aus
tralia in the first half of 1922 amount to
£332,340, and come next to those, of the
United States. Canada's purchases of
linens in the six months are limited to
£204,348. Even more striking is' the fol
lowing record of the British exports of
steel, galvanized iron, and wire, in the half
year ended June 30:- ^ ^
, Sv .. J .. .. - 393*92 233,289
France -. .- .- ?.*}? 96,494 70,080
Japan ...,«..U 88^00 61,538
SSJS*?I* «'..«:;. 562A54 . 142,055
Japan'.. .. ...-»« 589,363 64,648
Australia .- -...-..? 379^15. 47,897
Galvanized Exjn.Sheets— ' nnr,w.n
Indk. ....... .. .« 381,255 1,233,753
' ?ArasfcraEa .. .. .. .. 623,201 1,039,280
Argen-iane ......... 164,880 665,967
Sotifli Africa .- .. .. 101,881 411,353
New_ Zealand ..' ..100,074 247,143
Iron, and Steel Wire— „»-„,
Australia ? 91,838 96,583
Urnied States ... ..? 81,917 79..057
IimE*. ? 90,098 51,935
Jfotf%:alanil ' .. .. .65,517 46,052
i. ' ?.-?' . - —Torfjlo iMlaWhinerv.—
In. ttexfcfle onaahinery, Mr. McGregor
points out, 'AosfcraTia shoiVB nip very badly
?with £206,953, compared ?with £4,100,796
exported to India and £1,654,353 to Japan.
India is interested in jute and cotton tex
tile anachinerv, and Japan particularly an
cotton textie marihineiy, but; the figures
indicate that Australia is not making that
pTogrem in' the textile manufacturing in
dustry that many 'would desire. The de
tails of -the official comparison of exports
arej* follows - ^ ^
' India .. ...... .. 4,246,865 4,100,796
Japap ...... .. I&IO 1.654,353
effi .. .. .. .. .. 9«,046 1,219,647
Frawje ..-? .. '..?-?-' 2,335,721 1,131,705
United States ..' .: 763,115 524,912
Australia ? 163,250 806453
In Britaih'a exports of cutlerv in the
firai: six 'months of 1922 Australia heads
the list wifch £126,043.. Canada cornea
next -with £47,696, and then India with
£30,816, and South Africa with; £28,277.
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