In Berlin, however, it is pointed out these figures have only conditional accuracy. For instance, great quantities of commodities of all kinds passed the German-Czech frontier during recent military operations and in the prevailing confusion escaped registration. Food and raw materials paid for in Reichsmarks were sent from Czechoslovakia to the Reich, whose real imports were accordingly correspondingly larger Further, considerable smuggling is still going on between the Proteotorate and Slovakia because the customs frontier there is not yet perfect.
Taking the figures as they stand however, their most striking feature is the heavy drop in imports into the Reich, the shrinkage shown by the Reich official returns being from Rm.513,000,000 in March to Rm.402,-
600.000—a drop of Rm.110400,000—which the official comment describes as "seasonal" although some preious years showed exactly the reverse tendency.
Another explanation given is that imports from the Protectorate are no longer included in Reich foreign trade figures. But, as already shown. this would account for only Rm29,- 900,000.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.