March 1897.] 



THE IMPORT TRADE IN EGGS. 



369 



THE IMPORT TRADE IN EGGS. 



Eggs have for many years been a considerable item in the 

 accounts of our import trade in food staffs. Fifty years ago 

 the net annual importation of this product of the poultry yard 

 amounted in number to less than 'three eggs per head of the 

 people of Great Britain and Ireland, but so great has been the 

 subsequent growth of the trade that in 1896 the supply from 

 abroad represented an allowance of 40 foreign eggs for each 

 inhabitant of this country. The total quantity of eggs imported 

 in 1896 was 1,589,387,000," of the declared value of 4,185,000Z. 

 The number of imported eggs retained- annually for home 

 consumption at intervals of five years since 1846 has been as 

 follows : — 



Year. 



No. 



Year. 



No. 



1846 - 

 1851 - 

 1856 - 

 1861 - 

 1866 - 

 1871 - 



72,252,000 

 115,522,000 

 117,206,000 

 203,291,000 

 438,877,000 

 400,150,000 



1876 - 

 1881 - 

 1886 - 

 1891 - 



1896 - 



I 



752,928,000 

 756,107,000 

 1,032,266,000 

 1,273,017,000 



1,586,000,000 

 (approximate). 



In connexion with these figures it may be observed that from 

 1840 to 1853 eggs imported from foreign countries, not British 

 possessions, were subjected to an import duty of 10^d. per great 

 hundred ; but this was reduced in 1853 to 4sd.* and finally 

 abolished in 1860. A duty of 2Jc£ per great hundred was 

 also imposed on eggs received from British possessions between 

 1842 and 1853 ; in the latter year it was altered to 2\d. per 

 great hundred, and ultimately removed in 1860. 



Until 1870 upwards of 90 per cent, of the total quantity of 

 eggs imported yearly into the United Kingdom were received 

 from French ports, and, although France still contributes a large 

 proportion of these imports, her consignments to this country 

 have constituted a steadily declining proportion of our gross 

 receipts during the past 20 years. Some idea of the changes 

 which have taken place in the latter period in the relative 

 position of the countries contributing to the supply may be 

 gathered from the following statement of the average annual 

 imports credited to various countries in the annual statements 

 of trade in three-year periods since 1875. It must, however, be 



* In 1854 an alteration was made in the method of assessing the duty : foreign 

 eggs were charged at 8d. per cubic foot (about 200 eggs), and eggs from British 

 possessions at 4d. per cubic foot. 



