Fiji’S Exports

Trade Holds Well

From Our Own Correspondent.

Suva, May 28.

THE returns for revenue from outside trade for the three months ending Marfth were considerably below the estimates, according to the report cf Mr. Wilson, Comptroller of Customs. The figures are as follow : ... March Qr. ... March Qr. ... 1931 ... 1930 Exports ... £250,644 ... £366,186 Imports ... £222,644 ... £354,308 Details of the exports, compared with the exports in the same quarter of 1930, are as follow : Sugar, 1931, 19,407 tons, £148,239; 1930, 15,154 tons, £181,683.

Copra, 1931, 5,350 tons, £64,419; 1930, 7,385 tons. £122,381.

Bananas, 1931, 21,339 cases, £11,541.

Other products, 1931, £25,677; 1930, £40,871.

The position, however, does not leave the Comptroller very pessimistic. As he points out, the revenue generally picks up after the first quarter, and by the third quarter quite a third of the year’s revenue has come in.

The trade generally is showing signs of holding its own fairly well. The one thing needed to make things recover quickly is a strong, upward tendency in the copra market, as copra, after all, affects more of our white population than any other of our exported commodities. ... ===