IMPORTS OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE. 465 

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the total value of the milk, butter, margarine, cheese, and 
eggs imported of about £2,164,000, our total expenditure on 
these commodities having amounted to £33,945,000, aS com- 
pared with £31,781,000 in 1899 and £29,221,000 in 1898, 
Butter did not show much variation in quantity, but there 
was an increase in the declared vaiue which brought up the 
average from rors. 6d. to 103s. 4d. per cwt. The quantity 
received from Denmark was 1,486,000 cwts., or 56,000 cwts. 
more than in the previous year. Our next largest con- 
tributor was Australasia, whence we imported a_ larger 
quantity than in any previous year, viz., 517,000 cwts., towards 
which Victoria contributed 265,000 cwts., New Zealand 
104,000 cwts., and New South Wales 81,000 cwts. A decided 
decline was observable in the supplies from the United 
States and Canada, which were 56,000 cwts. and 138,000 
cwts. respectively, against 159,000 cwts. and 250,000 cwts. in 
1899. The receipts of butter from France, which have 
been slowly declining for some years past, only amounted to 
322,000cwts. The quantity of margarine imported in the 
past year was 33,000 cwts. less than in 1899, but it was about 
the average of the past five years. 
A more noteworthy change is the increase of 327,000 cwts. 
shown in the imports of cheese. This is chiefly accounted 
for by larger imports from the two countries which are the 
principal competitors for this trade, viz., Canada, which sent 
175,000 cwts. more, or 1,512,000 cwts. in all, and the United 
States, which sent 90,000 cwts. more, or 681,000 cwts. in all. 
The average declared value rose from 46s. 2d. to 50s. 7d. per 
cwt. 
The import trade in foreign eggs, which has been steadily 
growing for many years past, showed a further rise in the 
year under review, and it may be noted that this increase 
was largely due to three countries, which have only recentiy 
begun to send eggs to the United Kingdom in any quan- 
tities, viz., Egypt, Morocco, and the United States. The 
quantity received from Egypt was 464,000 great hundreds, 
as compared with 255,000 in 1899, while Morocco sent 
270,000 great hundreds and the United States sent 426,000, 
against 108,000 and 145,000 great hundreds respectively. 
lel 48! 
