Raw iron, etc., semi-manufactured iron goods.. 71 56 47 89 351 Other metals and metal goods... Ships, vehicles, machinery, instruments, clocks.. Total... 1,907 The biggest groups among the imports were unground grain and pulse and feeding stuffs. The heaviest import quantity in these groups was that of oil-cake, there having been imported 609 million kilos in 1923; of maize there were imported 334 million kilos, of rye and wheat 371, and of barley and oats 243 million kilos. The total crop yield of Danish cultivation is, of course, much greater than the feeding stuffs imported from abroad, but it must be remembered that a supply of nitrogenous fodder (especially oil cake) for the purpose of supplementing the domestic root crops is necessary to the intensive animal husbandry of Denmark. Of groceries Denmark imported in 1923 22 million kilos of coffee, 12 million kilos of rice, 10 million kilos of oranges, 101⁄2 million kilos of dried fruits, about 6 million kilos of wines, etc. There was also a considerable extraordinary importation of sugar (56 million kilos), owing to the fact that the beet crops failed. Normally the country supplies itself with sugar and, in the good years, has had a surplus for export. For most of the goods named the imported quantities were a good deal bigger than before the war even taking into consideration the growth of the popu lation. Coal and coke form a very considerable item in the value of Danish imports. Before the great war the country obtained these fuels relatively cheaply, owing to its favourable position close to Great Britain, and because the greater number of the towns are by the sea. During and especially after the end of the war, however, prices rose extraordinarily, while the cost of conveyance also grew considerably; but during the past two years the rise in the price of these fuels has not exceeded the rise in the price of import goods as a whole. In 1923, the imports of coal, coke, cinders and briquettes amounted to rather less than four million tons. Of petroleum 90,000 tons were imported, gasoline 69,000 tons and other fuel oils 77,000 tons. The following are the imported quantities of important industrial raw materials in 1923: As a summary of the imports the following percentage distribution of the total value for 1922 is given, showing the goods systematically grouped: Thus the importation of raw materials and auxiliary materials formed a little less than half of the total import value. The value of the exportation of Danish goods in 1923 was 1533 million kroner, which was distributed over the following groups: Exports of Danish Goods. 1923 Mill. Kr. Live animals (except fish, etc.). 89 Bacon, beef, and other slaughter-house products...... 484 513 Eggs 127 Fish, shell-fish, etc. (not tinned) 14 Lard, condensed milk, etc., tinned goods, and other Agricultural produce accounted for more than four-fifths of the export value, so that it will be understood what an influence the considerable reduction of the stock of domestic animals, necessitated by the war as a result of the difficulty of obtaining supplies of feeding stuffs, had upon the exports of the country, both during the later years of the war and during the years immediately afterwards. In 1923 the effects of this reduction had, however, been overcome, and the exports were, for several of the principal groups, even greater than before the war, even when taking into consideration the extension of the area of the country by the reunion of North Slesvig with Denmark. Regarding the quantities exported of the most important produce of agriculture and some few industrial products, the following is of interest: Among the Danish industrial products exported but not mentioned in the above list are beer, purified cryolite, porcelain, machinery and ships. As previously mentioned, apart from this special trade there is a fairly extensive transit trade, with Denmark as an intermediate station. In 1923 the export value of the transit trade carried on for the account of Danish firms was 147 million kroner. Almost all this transit trade goes via Copenhagen, and much of it through the Free Port. As regards the nature of these transit goods, the most important group is soft goods, but as a matter of fact almost all groups are represented. The foreign trade of Denmark is carried on with a large number of different countries, but for the imports: Germany, Great Britain and the United States, for exports of Danish goods: Great Britain, and for re-exports: Sweden, are by far the dominating countries. The following summary shows the percentage distribution of the value of the imports and exports of Danish goods and the total foreign trade (imports plus exports and re-exports) on the more important countries for the year 1922: Great Britain was thus responsible for two-fifths of the total foreign trade, Germany for one-fifth, Norway and Sweden together for a good tenth, and the United States for something less than onetenth. Before the war Germany's share of the foreign trade was very much bigger (especially as regards exports), whilst among others the share of the United States was much less. The only country with which Denmark has an export surplus of any importance is Great Britain; in 1922 there was also an export surplus as regards Norway, Belgium and Switzerland. The biggest import surplus comes from Germany and the United States. As regards imports, Germany was in 1922, as in the year before, the country from which the greatest part of the goods (31 per cent. of the value) came, although the proportion is less than it was before the war. This is especially due to the fact that the practice followed before the war of buying overseas goods in Hamburg and other places in Germany, which ceased entirely during the war, was partly resumed in 1921 and further developed in 1922. Of maize and oil cake, very much larger quantities were imported in 1922 with Germany as an intermediary than in 1913, whilst most of the groceries and various other goods (for instance cotton, copra and salpetre) were still being bought from Germany in much smaller quantities than prior to the war. Of goods manufactured in Germany the biggest import items were |