A.—4

50

As particulars for last year (1919) were not made up, the totals only are shown. This return shows the article imported and the country of shipment; unfortunately, there was no record of the country of origin. It will be seen from this summary that, notwithstanding the shortage in shipping, the imports and exports for 1919 constitute a record, the nearest year being 1913, when the imports were £110,238 and the exports £109,926. In 1919, we understand, owing to a sufficiency of shipping, a considerable amount of copra was exported which had been carried over from 1918. No doubt the rise in the value of exports was caused by the advance in the price of copra, and by the fact that sailing-ships were obtainable to carry it to the United States of America. In 1918, 1,442 tons were exported to America, of a value of £31,724 ; 305 tons to Great Britain, valued at £5,405 ; and 5 tons to New Zealand, valued at £95. The following table shows the trade with the United States of America :—

Note. —The export trade to the United States is made up entirely of copra, coconuts, and pearlshell, for which there is no market in New Zealand : e.g. 1913 exports, £14,629, comprise copra £12,026, nuts £2,448; 1918 exports, £34,344, comprise copra £31,724, .shell £2,450; 1919 exports, £50,665, comprise copra £43,465, shell £7,200.

Fruit Trade. It seems evident to us that Rarotonga must be the chief centre for the development of the fruit trade, since in all the other lower islands the dearth of harbours will always make the shipment of fruit a difficult problem. At Mangaia, for example, the cut which was made through the reef three years ago has silted up, and all goods have to be taken to the ship by outrigger canoes, which are dragged to the edge of the reef and then launched into the surf. Even in comparatively calm weather, if the wind is inshore, it is impossible to work a ship satisfactorily. Perishable goods must therefore be grown at considerable risk, and we are forced to the opinion that the whole attention of the population of these islands, with the exception of, say, Rarotonga, should be directed to the production of nonperishable articles,, such as copra, coffee, cocoa, rubber, &c. Unlike fruit, such articles can be held over for an indefinite period without interfering with their quality. Moreover, except in calm weather, fruit is liable to considerable damage between the shore and the ship, and, owing to its bulky nature and relatively small value, the cost of handling is excessive. On the other hand, the same quantity of copra, coffee, cocoa, or rubber, being of much greater value, weight for weight, is cheaper to handle and infinitely less risky to hold. Experiments on the curing of oranges to improve their keeping-quality should be made. New Zealand annually imports thousands of cases of Californian " sundried " oranges, which, unlike the Cook Island oranges, keep for a considerable period. With the application of a proper curing process there is no reason why Cook Island oranges should not keep quite as well as Californian oranges. During the last five years shipping generally has been much interfered with, and as a consequence a vast quantity of valuable perishable fruit has been lost both to the growers in the Group and to the consumers in New Zealand. During the war period this state of affairs was, of course, unavoidable. Now, however,

-—~ i j-?—. . . i Year. Imports. Exports. Total. £ 1913 .. .. .. 9,846 1914 .. .. .. 10,586 1915 .. .. .. 5,073 1916 .. .. .. 8,241 1917 .. .. .. 11,092 1918 .. .. 15,324 1919 .. .. .. 27,605 £ 14,629 7,495 8,837 17,621 17,146 34,344 50,665 £ 24,475 18,081 13,910 25,862 28,238 49,668 78,270 N.B. —Imports from the United States include boots, and clothing. irosene, bicycles, ino ;or-cars, cotton goods.