Directory_and_Chronicle_1936 — Page 425

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Railway in Shansi, and fairly strong activity in general building construction in Tientsin and North China generally), fishery and sea products, and leaf tobacco. Taking the inward trade as a whole (excluding the coastwise move- ments of foreign goods, of which no record is kept) it will be seen from the value statistics quoted above that much of the loss in direct foreign imports was made good. by Chinese merchandise, which is all to the advantage of the national trade account. The country's loss on the direct foreign export trade of Tien- tsin, as compared with 1933, amounted to 7.4 million dollars, but, as will be shown, this general loss was more than covered by a deficiency under one item in the Returns, while several items that registered quantitative increases exhibited a decline in value, and almost all the remainder of the staples of the port registered increases in both quantity and value. Raw cotton of which only 162,000 quintals valued at 12 million dollars were shipped abroad as compared with 276,000 quintals valued at 19.8 million dollars in the preceding year, was the item instanced as being responsible for more than the total decline in the value of the export trade. Tientsin is by far the largest port of shipment in China for cotton going abroad, and, as the total exports from * the country during 1934 amounted to only 209,000 quintals, or almost exactly half the quantity shipped in 1933, it is greatly to Tientsin's credit that it obtained 'such a large share of the business offering during the year under review. Of the items showing a quantitative improvement with a decline in · value, the following important staples of the port may be mentioned wool, which increased to a quantity from 130,000 to 180,000 quintals but registered a decrease from 13.4 million to 12.7 million dollars in value; eggs, which increased (by over 35 per cent.) from 76,000 mille to 103,000 mille and decreased slightly in value from 1.11 million to 1.10 million dollars; egg products, which increased from 110,000 to 115,000 quintals and decreased in value from 9 million to 7.5 million dollars; beans and peas," which increased from 101,000 to 111,000 quintals and decreased in value from 1.1 million to 1 million dollars. The most fortunate classes of export items were those which registered improvement both as to quantity and value, and the more important of these staples were skins (excluding skin mats and rugs), which increased generally as to quantity (particularly sheep and lamb skins) and rose from 9 million to 9.9 million dollars in total value; carpets, which increased in quantity from 9,990 to 11,800 quintals and in value from 3.7 million to 4.1 million dollars; bristles, which increased in quantity from 11,500 to 12,000 quintals and in value from 2.8 million to 4 million dollars; walnut kernels, which increased in quantity from 23,500 to 37,600 quintals and in value from 1.7 million to 2.3 million dollars; and groundnut kernels and hemp. There was little change in the shipping trade, the total tonnage entered and cleared being 6 million as against 6.2 million tons in the preceding year.

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