£1,500,000 in 1915, £1,300,000 in 1916, and £330,000 in 1917. Trade relations with Belgium will probably gradually return to a pre-war basis, now that hostilities have ceased; but just what the immediate future of this trade will be it would be very difficult to predict at all accurately. BRITISH INDIA. The importance of the East Indian traffic in the trade of the United Kingdom is seen when it is noted that the total trade with British India in 1913 was exceeded in value only by that with the United States and Germany. Wheat, barley, rice, tea, cotton, jute and jute manufactures, manganese ore, gasoline, oilseeds, leather, and other important materials are received from India. Vehicles, cottons, machinery, woolens, and iron and steel materials are among the important exports. India is the most important buyer of cottons in the world, and cotton goods comprise about 50 per cent (in. value) of the United Kingdom's total exports to India. The following table shows the United Kingdom's import trade with British India by items of £1,000,000 or over: THE UNITED KINGDOM'S PRINCIPAL IMPORTS FROM BRITISH INDIA, 1913-1917.1 Wheat... Barley.. 504 407 726 Cwt..... 18,766 £7, 998 10,708 £4, 922 13.956 £8,845 5, 611 £4, 458 2,744 £2, 540 ...do.... 3,619 1,308 409 156 2,765 1,428 2,867 2,018 1,390 1,263 Beans, not fresh, ...do.... 742 918 1,867 Haricot. 1,950 9,200 4,1429,276 6,369 5,564 5,897 67 29 176 103 Rice, rice meal, and...do.... 5,162 1,915 5,137 flour. Tea..... 10, 365 215, 245 10, 095 148, 708 9,134 1,487 800 1,760 759 2,876 Tbs. Cotton, raw. Centals.. Hemp. Tons.... Hides, raw (wt.... 715 27 904 27 1,269 801 Jute. Manganese ore. ..do..... 308 70% 225 507 348 Petroleum, motor Galls.... 14, 738| spirit. Castor beans.. Cotton sead.. Tons.. Flax or linseed 8,638 231 7,453 1,085 421 2,200 300 2,052 917 20,783 1,355 20,277 1,575 728 886 1,266, 813 8 152 1,510 5,717 752 3,957 259 1,675 108 4,332 Rapeseed.. 106 249 166 393 364 1,223 Indigo.. Jute manufactures. 22 1,117 20 1,386 301 1,464 12 2, 158 4,606 Leather.. 371 3,533 40 6,299 678 4,940 354 4,517 1 Annual (and Monthly) Statements of Trade of the United Kingdom. Although total imports from India have increased in value during the war, the increase has been small in proportion to the growth of the import trade with Canada and Australia; and with respect to volume this trade has suffered a noticeable decline in the case of wheat, barley, tea, jute, and several other items. These changes have been due to British import restrictions, to poor crops, and to the tonnage scarcity. Exports to British India from the United Kingdom by items of £1,000,000 or over are shown in the following: THE UNITED KINGDOM'S PRINCIPAL EXPORTS TO BRITISH INDIA, 1913-1917.' (000 omitted.) Carriages, railway, etc.. Chemicals, all other sorts.. Cotton yarn.. Cotton manufactures, piece goods... Cotton manufactures, other than piece goods.. 549 791 1,046 Lbs.. 37,422 2,267 37,444 2,196 37,978 2,028 26,850 2,032 17,900 2,211 Machinery. Tons. 120 Copper, wrought and unwrought. Iron, steel, and man Total. ufactures of. Woolen piece goods.. All others.. Grand total... 14,552 12, 848 63,835 11,973 15, 467 14, 173 1 Annual (and Monthly) Statements of Trade of the United Kingdom. It is noticeable that in 1913 the only important British possession to which the United Kingdom exported more than it imported from such possession was India. This favorable trade balance in 1913 was about £23,000,000. During the war the situation has been reversed, and in 1917 the balance against the United Kingdom was about £6,000,000. Exports of cottons declined in both quantity and value in 1914-1916. In 1917 there was a further slight decline in the volume of this traffic, but higher prices brought the value of the total back to the 1913 level. The most striking changes in this export trade are the sharp reductions in the exports of machinery, copper, and iron and steel materials. As stated in a preceding chapter, the Japanese competition in the Indian cotton markets, although still largely potential, is arousing a great deal of concern in British cotton circles, and in view of the importance of these markets this uneasiness is not surprising. CANADA. The United Kingdom's_ import trade with Canada has grown rapidly during the war. Total imports in 1917 were 280 per cent of the 1913 total. Total exports to Canada in 1917, on the other hand, were but 65 per cent of the 1913 figure. The annual trade balance against the United Kingdom has accordingly increased from about £3,000,000 in 1913 to £66,600,000 in 1917. The principal imports from Canada are shown in the following table, items of £1,000,000 or over being specified: THE UNITED KINGDOM'S PRINCIPAL IMPORTS FROM CANADA, 1913-1917.1 ...do..... 2, 561 832 1,942 596 704 211 750 1,758 634 386 ...do.. 4,168 Fish of all kinds. (2) Cwt..... Bacon.. ...do..... 148 Cwt..... 1,293 £4,038 1, 167 £4,025 1,315 £5,241 1,505 £7,432 1,757 11,509 ...do..... 21,787 8,803 31,457 13,717 19, 725 12, 625 21, 551 15,245 18, 408 16,949 1,837 1,482 1,401 353 2,841 912 2,219 2,211 1,203 1,635 1,265 5,249 823 2,551 411 1,951 864 Beef, fresh and refrigerated.. 584 1,431 1,886 592 3,324 1,594 7,443 1,767 11,292 Seeds, flax or linseed.. Wood and timber, sawn or split... 1 Annual (and Monthly) Statements of Trade of the United Kingdom. An examination of the above table shows that price advances rather than an increased volume of traffic are responsible for the larger part of the change in totals. Of the items separately listed the only ones showing striking increases in quantity are eggs, corn, and bacon. On the other side, the trade in oilseeds has fallen to negligible proportions, and shipments of timber have been greatly curtailed. It is noticeable that in 1917 a large part of the total consists in items not separately listed. This amount is made up of a large number of other raw materials and manufactures, and the increase is mainly due to increases in exports of manufactured articles. The principal export items from the United Kingdom to Canada (selected on the same basis as the imports above) are shown in the following: THE UNITED KINGDOM'S PRINCIPAL EXPORTS TO CANADA, 1913-1917.1 The United Kingdom exports a long list of manufactured goods to Canada, most of the individual items, however, totaling less than £1,000,000 per year. It is noticeable that the decline in this export trade has largely taken place in connection with items not separately listed here. AUSTRALIA. Among the British possessions, Australia before the war stood next to India as a source of raw materials for the United Kingdom, and at present the receipts of essential materials from Australia are only slightly less than those from Canada. The following table shows the United Kingdom's import trade with Australia by items of £1,000,000 or over: THE UNITED KINGDOM'S PRINCIPAL IMPORTS FROM AUSTRALIA, 1913-1917.' The most noticeable changes in the volume of this trade are the increase in receipts of wheat meal and flour and the decline in mutton and tallow importations. The principal exports of the United Kingdom to Australia are shown in the following table: THE UNITED KINGDOM'S PRINCIPAL EXPORTS TO AUSTRALIA, 1913-1917.1 piece goods. Cotton manufactures, Yds... 167,914 3,390 176, 833 3,649 197, 982 3,954 228,070 1,153 1,084 1,135 7,95 £829 2,023 £672 2,460 £1,091 1,385 £947 695 Cotton, other than piece goods. Machinery.. Iron and steel and ...do...] 2,536 50 2,771 565 6,437 521 6,098 manufactures of. 1,669 Paper of all sorts... Cwt... Silk manufactures. Woolen piece goods... Yds. 17,395 Woolen manufactures, 1,757 17,341 758 716 741 1,326 126) 366 1,124 898 other than piece 1,387 800 goods: 1 Annual (and Monthly) Statements of Trade of the United Kingdom. It appears from the above data that the most striking change in this trade is the very sharp decrease in "machinery" and "iron and steel" items. In part this shortage has been made good by increased output of such materials in Australia. |