H.—44.

The table which follows classifies the values of importations into New Zealand during the past four years according to the countries of origin.

Value of New Zealand's Imports according to Country of Origin, 1928-31.

Imports from British countries during 1931 declined by £12,160,198, whereas imports from foreign countries receded by £6,052,758. Imports from British countries in 1931 represented 70-3 per cent, of total imports, as compared with 68-8 per cent, in 1930, while imports from foreign sources represented 29-7 per cent, and 31-2 per cent, in 1931 and 1930 respectively. In the table given below the percentages of total imports claimed by each of the principal countries trading with New Zealand are shown for the same four years.

The most noteworthy features in connection with the above table are increases in the proportion of imports from the United Kingdom and Australia, and decreases in the proportion obtained both from the United States and Canada. Banking Returns. Although the returns of the six trading banks in New Zealand for the quarter ended 31st March, 1932, reflect in some directions the effects of the adverse economic conditions which prevailed throughout the whole of the year under review in this report, they nevertheless show a financial position that is sound and satisfactory. Indeed, in some respects there are noticeable improvements upon the position for the corresponding quarter of 1931.

4

1928. j 1929. 1930. 1931. ___ . j j : - British Possessions, Protectorates, &c.— £ £ £ £ United Kingdom .. .. .. 21,289,275 22,565,436 20,333,986 12,192,649 India .. .. .. .. 782.144 766,756 637,832 392,088 Ceylon .. .. .. .. 860,886 923,748 704,759 617,042 South African Union .. .. 104,043 100,988 92,006 69,978 Canada .. .. .. .. 3,258,828 4,792,820 3,802,925 1,224,569 Australia .. .. .. .. 3,499,151 3,258,727 3,308,915 2,437,955 Fiji .. .. .. .. 571,728 174,894 200,877 102,979 All other British countries . . .. 444,134 511,600 510,637 394,479 Totals, British counties.. .. 30,810,189 33,094,969 29,591,937 17,431,739 Foreign Countries and Possessions— United States .. .. .. 8,204,197 9,319,926 7,573,053 3,885,073 France .. .. .. .. 820,592 727,388 608,076 327,646 Germany .. .. .. .. 898,901 940,863 975,460 574,500 Belgium .. .. .. .. 498,162 587,463 448,762 289,478 Japan .. .. .. .. 576,495 625,714 565,264 304,532 Dutch East.Indies .. .. .. 999,524 1,152,705 811,372 848,216 All other foreign countries .. .. 2,078,206 2,348,949 2,451,990 1,151,774 Totals, all foreign countries .. 14,076,077 15,703,008 13,433,977 7,381,219 Totals, all countries .. .. 44,886,266 | 48,797,977 43,025,914 24,812,958

1928. 1929. 1930. 1931. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. United Kingdom .. .. .. 47-43 46-25 j 47-27 49-17 India .. .. .. .. 1-74 1-57 i 1-48 1-58 Ceylon .. .. .. .. 1-92 1-88 1-64 2-49 South African Union .. .. 0-23 0-21 i 0-21 0-28 Canada .. .. .. .. 7-26 9-81 j 8-84 4-94 Australia .. .. .. .. 7-79 6-68 7-69 9-80 Fiji .. .. .. .. 1-27 0-36 0-47 0-42 United States .. .. .. 18-28 19-10 17-60 15-65 France .. .. .. .. 1-83 1-49 1-41 1-32 Germany .. .. .. .. 2-00 1-93 2-27 2-32 Belgium .. .. .. .. 1-11 1-16 1-04 1-17 Japan .. .. .. .. 1-28 1-28 1-31 1-23 Dutch East Indies .. .. .. 2-23 2-36 1-88 j 3-42