Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1899 American Edition.djvu/1176

 S-20

NETHERLANDS

The value of imports and exports of the leading agricultural products in 1896 and 1897 was as follows (in guilders) : —

__

1896

1S97

Imports

Exports

Imports i

1 Exports 1

Wheat.

134,439,000

98,161,000

144,359,000

113,677,000

Flour wheat and

rye

48,779,000

8,271.000

48,870,000

12,227,000

Rye.

77,343,000

35,430,000

78,838,000

37,769,000

Barley

26,092,000

18,520,000

27,395,000

19,239,000

Oats.

28,971,000

24.060,000

23,398,000

20,352,000

Potatoes.

129,000

1,133,000

197,000

1,081,000

Potato-flour

4,945,000

15,077,000

4,230,000

16,059,000

Buckwheat

2,548,000

734,000

2,956,000

1,013,000

Flax.

1.178,000

16,298,000

967,000

13,585,000

Beetroot.

240,000

2,482,000

107,000

1,494,000

The import of bulbs, shrubs, and trees was valued for 1897 at 425,000 gl., the export at 5,109,000 gl. ; for 1896, 347,000, and 6,032,000 gl. ; vegetables at 1,752,000 gl. import and 39,167,000 gl. export in 1897, and 1,627,000 and 27,106,000 gl. in 1896.

II. Mining and Manufactures.

A few coal mines are found in the province of Limburg ; they belong to the State. The quantity of coal extracted in 1897 was 103,955,000 kilos., valued at 412,873 gl. ; clear revenue, 145,041 gl. ; part of the State, 45,020 gl.

There are no official returns of all the manufacturing industries. According to the last reports there were, in 1897 : 544 distilleries, 10 sugar refineries, 31 beet-sugar manufactories, 47 salt works, 498 breweries and 92 vinegar manu- factories.

The total number of manufactories which made use of steam-engines at the end of 1897 was 4,375 ; the number of engines, 5,075.

III. Fisheries.

In 1897 : 5,318 vessels of all kinds were engaged in the fisheries, with crews numbering about 18,387. The produce of the herring fishery in the North Sea was valued at 5,567,756 guilders. The total number of oysters produced in 1897 amounted to 40,000,000 ; aboutone-fourth part of it exported to England.

Commerce.

The Netherlands is a free-trading country. A few duties are levied, but they have only a fiscal, not a protectionist character. The duties amount usually to 5 per cent, of the value of manu- factured articles, and nihil or only 2^^ per cent, if these articles are used for the industries of the country.

No official returns are kept of the value of the general trade, but only of the weight of the goods. The growth of the total commerce of the Netherlands may be seen from the fact that ii^