Norwich bulletin., 1920-12-24
BIG GAINS IN U. s.
 TRADE WITH AFRICA

While certain European nations have been readjusting boundary lines and territorial control in Africa, the manufac- turers of the United States have been successfully invading the markets of that con .inent Our exports to Africa says a statement by The National City Bank of New York, in the year which ends with this month will aggregate six times as much as in 1914, and our im- ports from that continent seven times as much as in 1914. Our total trade with Africa in the calendar year 1920 will ag- gregate 325 million dollars against 47 millions in the fiscal year 1914, all of which preceded the war.
 Africa is continues the banks state ment the latest of the grand divisions to recognize the quality and attrac i've ness of United States merchandise, and | especially United States manufactures. For a long period prior to the war the exports to that continent were practi- cally at a standstill, and never reached as much as 30 million dollars per ah- num- With the opening of the war, Ger man trade with that continent was, of | course, absolutely cut off, and the Brit ish and French manufacturers and ex- | porters were too busily occupied with other matters to give close attention to the African markets As a consequence, 1 the people of tha. continent turned to the United States to supply the manufac- lures which they had been accustomed to draw from Great Britain, Germany France, Belgium, Italy and Portugal, as | all of those European countries had large areas in Africa, and therefore sup piled the bulk of the merchandise enter ing those markets.
 With this change in South Africa'a | buying opportunities-the necessity of looking to the United States instead of | relying upon the European countries con- | trolling the respective areas-our ex- ports to that continent begs to climb i; l they were in the calendar year 1914, 25 million dollars. 1915, IT millions; 1916, 54 millions; 1918, 5s millions 1919, sS i millions, and in. 1920 will show a total of 165 million dollars or practically dou- ble that of the immediately preceding year, and six times as much as in the year preceding the war.
 Meantime we have reciprocatsd this friendly attitude of our African neigh bors, and have increased our purchases from them to an even greater extent measured in percentages at least. Our imports from Africa, which totaled 2U millions dollars in 1914. jumped to g. millions in 1915 62 millions in 1916 73 millions in 1917; S6 millions in 1918 112 millions in 1919, and 160 millions in 1920. It is proper to add, however. ladds the banks statement, that this in- Ierease in our imports of African products
 is more apparent than real" because of the fact that large proportion of tho
 Egyptian cotton which We formerly con-
 sumed was bought in England, and ac- credited to that country in our import
 returns, while the 'exigencies of the
 var resulted in our direct purchase of Egyptian cotton in the markets of
 Egypt, and thus accrediting the cotton to Egypt, which was nst only it's pro-
 euser but it's direct exporter to the Unit.
 ed States, while formerly Egypt had Isent it's cotton to England by which t
 Tas re-sold to the United States.
 Cotton is, of course, our largest i'm port from Africa amounting in the fiis
 eal year 1920, to 1o3 million dollars
 coming direct from. Egypt, as agains
 B millions in 1916. Wool probabl,
 ranks next to cotton, amounting in tn 1 fiscal year 1920 to approximately 2 l million dollars. while caeao, chiefly iron ] British West Africa. was 22 3-4 millie'