Products and Markets.

Now a little about the products and markets of New Zealand. Nothing requires to be said about wool, grain, flax, or frozen meat. page 21 These are well-established industries. Here is a table of the chief articles of export during the last ten years:—

Exports of New Zealand Produce.

Year	Wool	Gold	Frozen meat	Butter and cheese	Agricultural produce	Manufactures	Other N.Z. produce	Total
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
1881	2,909,760	996,867		14,608	1,089,739	87,321	663,955	5,762,250
1882	3,118,554	921,664	19,339	62,218	1,169,020	121,447	841,108	6,253,350
1883	3,014,211	892,445	118,328	48,912	1,537,015	121,446	1,122,887	6,855,244
1884	3,267,527	988,953	345,090	91,667	968,517	104,425	1,176,307	6,942,486
1885	3,205,275	890,056	373,857	138,129	688,415	120,539	1,175,640	6,591,911
1886	3,072,971	939,648	427,193	151,194	688,804	109,656	997,216	6,386,682
1887	3,321,074	747,878	455,870	109,483	688,022	124,382	1,204,372	6,551,081
1888	3,115,098	914,309	628,800	197,170	905,907	233,383	1,260,461	7,255,128
1889	3,976,375	785,490	783,374	213,945	1,424,297	569,880	1,288,647	9,042,008
1890	4,150,599	751,360	1,087,617	207,687	1,289,864	547,947	1,393,687	9,428,761

The steady growth of these products has placed New Zealand in the proud position of being a country every member of whose population exports £15 8s. 5d. worth of produce. As I am speaking of New Zealand as a home for small farmers, I shall refer but briefly to some of the products of small farming, viz. dairy produce, fruit growing, bee culture and poultry rearing, as time will not permit me to do more, but a perusal of the table I have supplied of food products imported into the English markets will suggest many other directions in which the farmer's energy might be profitably devoted. The bare mention of such occupations suggests health, happiness and plenty, and this country provides what for all practical purposes is an inexhaustible market. Look at the amount this country paid for importations of these products in the year 1891, and you will then, I think, be satisfied that there is plenty of room for all New Zealand can produce, and if at the same time you realise how favourable are the conditions for the production of most of these articles, you will want nothing more to satisfy you of the glorious future in store for the Colony.

Values of the following Articles of Food imported into England during 1891.

	£
Live stock	9,246,398
Bacon	6,650,324
Beef (fresh)	4,038,487
Hams	2,791,437
Meat (preserved)	1,888,067
Mutton (fresh)	3,282,001
Pork (salted and fresh)	599,657
Fish (cured or salted)	1,993,347
Butter	11,591,181
Margarine	3,558,203
Cheese	4,815,369
Eggs	3,520,918
Lard	1,720,051
Corn: Wheat	29,448,204
Flour	10,184,887
Barley	5,941,833
Oats	5,475,734
Peas	862,427
Beans	1,206,916
Indian corn	8,411,763
Potatoes	1,196,824

page 22

The following additional articles are taken from the returns of 1890.

	£
Fruit: Raw:—
Nuts	600,936
Almonds	352,154
Apples	786,072
Oranges and lemons	1,756,852
Unenumerated	1,806,811
Fruit: Dried or Preserved:—
Currants	1,346,810
Baisins	1,006,898
Plums and Prunes, &c.	112,155
Figs and Fig cake	231,969
Unenumerated	397,289
Fruit: Preserved without sugar (probably canned and bottled)	269,184
Honey	41,321
Hops	877,704
Condensed milk	847,625
Nuts and kernels for oil	603,569
Nuts and kernels (not fruit)	22,000
Onions	724,020
Pickles and vegetables in salt or vinegar	133,996
Vegetables, raw, unenumerated	773,590
Poultry and game	497,857
Rabbits	398,110
Total	£132,010,950