Help for Exporters
The problem of paying for the war has a two-fold aspect. One, the internal aspect, is discussed on another page. The second, the external aspect, which is concerned with the means of paying for imports, was the subject of a speech by Mr. R. S. Hudson at Glasgow last Monday. The gravity of the problem is revealed by the trade figures for last January. Exports, while actually an improvement on the previous January, come to £41,roo,000 ; imports were £1o5,000,000. When full allowance is made for invisible exports the gap is still enormous, and must be greatly reduced if we are to pay for our imports without a damaging drain on our foreign securities and gold. Mr. Hudson spoke of the efforts which were being made by the Department of Overseas Trade and by the Export Council which has recently been set up to make larger quantities of raw materials available for the export industries, and to encourage small firms which had not hitherto catered for foreign markets to develop an export business. There will have to be severe restrictions on production for home con- sumption, and the consumer must, and doubtless will, accept them cheerfully.
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