Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1914-06-03
IMPORTS INCREASE;
 EXPORTS DECREASE

Home consumption of domestic foodstuffs has so nearly overtaken home production that the United States is not only reducing it's sales of foodstuffs abroad. but drawing more largely upon foreign countries for certain of its food requirements. An analysis of the foreign trade dur ing the first six months under the new tariff has been made by the bu- reau of foreign and domestic com merce, department, of, commerce. From this it. is shown that imports of foodstuffs in their natural condi- tion, including food animals, in creased from $117 ,194, ,237 in the half year ended with March, -913, to $143,421, ,536 in a like period ended with March, 1914; and that imports of foodstuffs partly or wholly pre- pared for use in the same period ad- vanced from $95,744, 241 to $10O,967,- ; 378. Thus the increase in importa- tions of all food products ill the per 'iod named amounted to over $30,000,- 900, or an average of $5,000,000 per month.
 On the. export side the figures are even more striking. Of crude food stuffs the sales to foreign countries fell off more than 50 per cent, while prepared foodstuffs also declined, though in smaller proportion. Ex- ports of the first-named group fell from $115, ,S50,453 in the six months period of last year to $55,4S3,7S7 i1 the half year which ended with March of the current year, and man. ufactured food products from $780, 0O7 ,422 to $162,022,620.
 The articles of food showing the largest increases in importations dur ing the six months under review are fresh beef, cattle, corn, wheat, rice, macaroni, fruits, molases and edi- ble oils. We imported during the six months which ended with March last 55O.000 head of cattle, or more than double the number imported i'll the corresponding period 8 year earlier; S3 23 million pounds of beef and year ago; nearly 9 million bushels of corn. sOr 30 times as much as in the corresponding six months of last year; 40 million pounds of rice and rice flour, or nearly 50 million pounds more than a year ago; and 66 million pounds of macaroni, yer miceli, and other similar preparations as against B million pounds in the corresponding six months of the pre- ceding year. Sugar is conspicu- ous exception to the rule of increas- ing imports of food products. Of cane sugar the imports in the six months ending with March amounted to 1,650 million pounds, compared with 1909 million in the correspond ing six months of 1912-13, while of beet sugar the imports fell to 1 IA million pounds, in comparison with lS2 milan pounds ia the half-year period which ended with March. -913,
 While in many instances the above mentioned food products form a small proportion of the domestic consump- tion, as in the case of corn, wheat and meats, the increase in imports in recent moaths has been so rapid as to give promise of reducing before long the shortage of our own food supply.
 The following table illustrates the changed position of the United States in respect to imports and exports of food products during the last fifteen years, and shows that the balance of trade has shifted to the import side
 Imports of foods-1S9S, $190, ,OO0,- oO0; 1913, 05,O0O,0OO; six months ended March, 1914, $244, ,O00, ,OOO. Im- ports of foods-1S9S, $59O ,OOo 900; 1915. $5o2 ,0O0; six months ended March, 1914, $217.000, ,O00.
 Detailed statistics regarding the imports and exports of food products are published in reports of the bu- reau of foreign and domestic com merce and are available not only in