The chief trade of the Empire is carried on through its European frontier, as seen from the following table in thousands of roubles. But the European frontier does not include the Caucasus, so that the rapidly increasing exports of grain, and especially of naphtha, from the ports of the Caucasus appear in the exports from the Asiatic frontier, although both are exported to Europe. On the other side, the arrivals of tea from China to Odessa or St. Petersburg appear in the imports to the European frontier. If the trade of Northern Caucasia via the Black Sea be added to the above figures for 1888 by the European frontier, the exports would be 758,297,528 roubles, and the imports 333,384,052 roubles. The following tables, giving the value of exports and imports, in thousands of paper roubles, to and from Europe (European frontier) for the last thirteen years, will better show the character of the foreign trade of Russia : To render these figures comparable with one another, the value of the same exports and imports for the same years, but in gold, is given in the subjoined table: EXPORTS, VALUED IN GOLD. If the average exports for the years 1868-72 be taken as 100, the exports of 1888 would appear as follows: wheat 239, rye 464, barley $63, oats 518, Indian corn 346, various 584; total 384, thus showing that the exports of wheat grow much slower than those of rye, oats, and especially barley. For the last six years grain has formed, on the average, 55 per cent. in value of the aggregate exports to Europe, and 58.7 per cent. in 1888. The subjoined table shows the average exports (in quarters) for the years 1867 to 1886 as well as for 1887 and 1888: 1867-71 1872-76 1877-81 1882-86 1887 1888 Quarters Quarters Quarters Quarters Quarters 1,049,000 23,129,000 1,146,000 25,490,000 1,407,000 | 30,772,000 3,076,600 45,807,500 The next important item of export is linseed and various oleaginous seeds; flax, hemp, timber, wool, and bristle. The export of refined sugar has much increased of late, owing to bounties given by Government. Of other articles on the increase, eggs are worthy of note; so also naphtha (chiefly from Batum), the exports of which for the last four years (from Russia and Caucasus as well) will be seen from the following table: The export of eggs (chiefly to Germany, France, and Austria) is acquir ing every year a greater importance, as seen from the following figures of exports for the last six years : The following table shows the relative importance of the chief exports from European Russia during the last three years:- The principal imports to European Russia and the Black Sea frontier of the Caucasia are shown in the following table: The imports and exports by the frontier of Asia were as follows in 1887 and 1888 in thousands of roubles : The total exports and imports of gold, silver, and bullion, not included in the above, imported and exported to and from European Russia and the Black Sea frontier of the Caucasus, are as follows, in gold roubles :— The amount of custom duties, levied chiefly in gold and partly in paper roubles, appears as follows:- For the first eight months of 1889 the exports reached the value of 491,760.000 roubles, as against 497,363,900 roubles during the same eight months of 1888. The reduction was chiefly due to a reduction in the exports of barley (3 million cwt.), oats (5 million cwt.), and rye (1 million cwt.), which reduced the exports of food produce by 22,445,000 roubles, not withstanding a further increase of the exports of wheat. The exports of butter and sugar were on the increase;, while those of eggs, tobacco, and spirits declined-the latter from 6,000,000, roubles to 3,700,000; so also the exports of manufactured goods. There is a considerable increase in the exports of timber and raw wool (17,255,000 roubles as against 9,876,000 in 1888) and hemp. The imports during the same eight months were 267,605,000 roubles, as against 219,609,000 roubles during the same months of 1888. |