Cotton piece-goods imports slumped badly from $9,480,000 to $1,060,000; raw cotton and yarn from $13,321,000 {0 $3,601,000; wool from $223397,000 tr '$8450,000, metals and" ores " from $63,689,000 to $13,558,000, chemicals from $10,332,000 to " $4,041,000 and. machinery from $24,961,000 to $8257
On the export side the value of animals and animal products fell from. $15,145,000 to $7,050,000, "hides and leather from $0,523,874 to $1,072,047. oils, tallow and' wax from "$3,950,000 to $2,002,027, and textile Mbres from $15,124,000 10 $2,462,696.
Such figures show well enough the types of goods in which the merchant. ing companies are now doing Tess business, though it should be remem bered that much of the trade has een diverted to southern ports.
Exceptions to the general decline of imports into Shanghai were cereals Gncluding flour), and coal and, other fuel which actuchly increased in the period under review, while tobacco Imports were fairly well maintained. So far as wheat is concerned the reason for the rise is probably to be: found in the pressure for domestic Fequirements owing to the breakdown of internal supplies, (2) Those where interests lie prinetpally in China but whose Shang hal trade is partially replaceable elsewhere; and (8) Companies with world-wide! connections which have subsidiaries in Shanghai and, possibly, elsewhere in China, While companies of the first category—public utilities are an example have had to suffer passively, some those with wider connections may have been able partially to recoup their losses in Shanghai by profiting from changes In the direction of China's trade.
How remarkably the channels of trade have altered is shown in the import and export compiled by the Chinese Maritime Customs. These show that while for the first five months of the year the total value of trade has been remarkably well maintained compared with last, the amount passing through Shanghai has decline ed steeply. This has been due largely to the diversion of trade to Southern ports, a fact illustrated in the following table:— osronrs aww Brome ey Pons
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.