Imports of Agricultural Produce in 1902. 501 



cent, of the total The second place was held by Russia, which 

 has been making very great progress in this trade within the 

 last few years, the 489,000 cwt. credited to that country being 

 111,000 cwt. more than in 1901, and 280,000 cwt. more than in 

 1900. The imports from France, which had been declining, 

 showed a recovery from 312,000 cwt. in 1901 to 414,000 cwt. 

 last year. The contributions from British Colonies amounted 

 to about 524,000 cwt., including 80,500 cwt. from Australia, 

 158,000 cwt. from New Zealand, and 285,800 cwt. from 

 Canada. The average value of the imports of this commodity 

 was 103s. 4d., as against 104s. 3d. in 1901. 



Little change has to be recorded in the total imports of 

 cheese, but a further improvement took place in the position 

 occupied by Canada, from which country we received 1,709,566 

 cwt., or 67 per cent, of the total. The United States supplied 

 390,479 cwt., and Holland 284,018 cwt, a quantity smaller in 

 each case than in the preceding year. The average value of the 

 cheese imported was 50s. 4d. per cwt., or 2s. 2d. more than 

 in 1901. 



The imports of fresh milk and cream comprised 13,559 cwt. 

 of fresh milk, 5,413 cwt. of cream, and 3,058 cwt. of preserved 

 milk. Practically the whole of the supply of fresh milk, as well 

 as 3>°53 cwt - of cream, came from France. 



The past year saw an increase in this country's consumption 

 of foreign eggs. They were received chiefly from Conti- 

 nental countries, although Canada, Egypt, Morocco, and the 

 United States also share in the trade to a small extent. Russia 

 sent us 5,304,000 great hundreds in the past year, Denmark 

 3,518,000, Germany 3,931,000, and Belgium 2,627,000, quantities 

 which were in each case the largest consignments yet received. 

 The value of the eggs imported from different countries varies 

 considerably, those from France, for instance, having an average 

 value of 8s. 6d. per 120, while those from Russia were valued at 

 only 5s. 8d. per 120. 



The imports of horses, poultry, wool, and other miscellaneous 

 animal products are shown in the next table. The imports of 

 wool were nearly 50,000,000 lb. less than in 1901, and with the 

 exception of the year 1900, they were less than in any year since 

 1890. This was attributable to the diminished receipts, viz., 



