The Baltic States as a British Market in the Past and Future

II. PRE-WAR FOREIGN TRADE Principal Imports and Exports Table No. 2 — Principal Imports of the Baltic States and United Kingdom's share therein Table No. 3 — Principal Exports of the Baltic States and United Kingdom's share therein Trade with the United Kingdom, Germany and U.S.A. Table No. 4 — The Baltic States' Trade with the United Kingdom, Germany and U.S.A. Trade with the United Kingdom Table No. 5 — United Kingdom's Trade with the Baltic States Trade with the U.S.A. Table No. 6 — Principal Imports from U.S.A. in 1938 United Kingdom's Trade with the Baltic States and other Countries of European Middle Zone and Soviet Russia Table No. 7 — United Kingdom's Trade with the Baltic States and other Countries of the European Middle Zone and Soviet Russia

A glance at the principal imports and exports of the Baltic States affords a sufficient clue to the structure of the economic life of these countries. The share of the United Kingdom and the countries of the British Empire in trade intercourse with the Baltic States is separately indicated in the statistics of external trade given below :

Table No. 2 — Principal Imports of the Baltic States and United Kingdom's share therein

Principal Imports of the Baltic States and United Kingdom's share therein

	Estonia		Latvia		Lithuania
	1938	1937	1938	1937	1938	1937
	( i n t h o u s a n d s o f t o n s )
Food :
Herrings	7.0	4.8	9.0	12.8	13.8	11.4
From U.K.	5.8	3.4	9.0	12.7	12.2	6.8
Sugar	27.8	25.8	—	—	0.5	0.4
From U.K.	22.7	18.6	—	—	0.2	—
Salt	27.8	20.5	29.4	30.0	35.4	32.5
From U.K.	0.7	1.0	0.4	0.4	2.1	1.9
8
Hides and Skins (undressed)	1.7	1.5	2.3	1.1	2.0	2.4
From the British Empire	0.3	0.3	0.1		0.08	0.2
Tanning Materials	1.2	1.4	2.2	2.3	1.5	2.2
From B.E.	0.2	0.6	0.4	0.2	0.3
Coal	61.7	80.7	606.7	594.9	287.9	281.0
From U.K.	52.2	56.3	429.9	357.4	241.8	226.4
Coke	4.3	3.6	71.0	71.4	18.3	19.9
From U.K.	2.7	0.5	19.6	39.8	11.3	11.6
Fertilizers	51.0	69.0	146.0	143	118	96
Including :
Phosphates	—	—	68	53	18	32
Superphosphates	40	51	4	18	75	49
From U.K.	—	—	—	—	20.1	13
Chilean Saltpetre	2	0.6	11	5	0.5	—
Textiles :
Cotton	5.9	6.5	4.9	5.1	2.3	2.3
From B.E.	0.3	0.6	0.4	0.3	1.9	2.3
From Egypt	2.1	1.7	0.4	0.3	—	—
Wool	0.49	0.42	1.17	1.24	0.39	0.54
From U.K.	0.31	0.29	0.89	0.8	0.31	0.46
From B.E.	0.16	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.04	0.02
Jute	2.3	2.6	0.1	0.1	—	-
From B.E.	2.3	2.5	0.1	0.1	—	—
Hemp	0.57	0.79	0.64	0.53	0.4	0.4
From B.E	0.49	0.73	0.23		—	—
Cotton yarn and thread	0.07	0.08	0.04	0.05	1.81	1.94
From U.K.	0.06	0.07	0.02	0.02	1.38	1.5
Woollen yarn and thread 0.33	0.32	0.20	0.35	0.70	0.62
From U.K.	0.24	0.23	0.12		0.62	0.49
Rayon yarn and thread	0.26	0.27	0.81	0.64	0.28	0.24
From U.K.	0.01	0.01	0.14	0.11	0.02	0.03
Cotton materials	0.14	0.17	0.74	0.77	1.05	1.13
From U.K.	0.07	0.07	0.31	0.43	0.47	0.61
Woollen materials	0.04	0.04	0.07	0.07	0.21	0.24
From U.K.	0.03	0.03	0.02	0.02	0.15	0.18
Metals (total)	32.3	42.3	59.8	75.9	51.1	64.6
Including :
Iron and steel (ingots, bars, etc.)	19.9	29.2	39.4	44.0	38.0	40.0
From U.K.	0.13	0.9	1.5		9.7	2.2
Rails	5.3	2.6	0.6	13.0	6.8	14.4
From U.K.	—	0.06	—		5.7	1.9
Iron plates and sheets	3.9	5.2	2.0	2.1	7.4	5.8
From U.K.	0.2	0.7	1.9		4.2	3.0
Tin plates	2.6	2.9	3.0	5.4
From U K.	1.9	2.5	2.0
Iron and steel goods	6.7	8.0	5.9	7.4	4.0	2.9
From U.K.	1.2	1.1	0.1		—	0.7
Agricultural machinery	4.0	3.5	4.3	3.1	2.3	1.7
From U.K.	0.1	0.1	0.02		0.1	0.4
Tractors (number)	350	304	264	411	85	107 tons
From U.K.	260	245	243		18	8 "
Power and working machinery and parts	3.2	3.7	4.7	3.7	5.1	4.6
From U.K.	0.4	0.4	0.2		1.1	0.8
Electrical Apparatus and machinery and parts	1.9	2.0	0.7	0.6	1.7	1.1
From U.K.	0.05	0.06	0.04
Means of transport :
Private cars (number)	656	505	504	495	633	652 tons
From U.K.	138	158	96		68	26 "
Lorries (number)	27	18	3	—	5	16 "
From U.K.	3	6	—	—	—	1 "
Chassis (number)	410	601	229	716	344	1148 "
From U.K.	103	271	34		2	9 "
Motor-cycles (number)	623	463	763	469	379	41 "
From U.K.	105	162	201		161	3 "
Bicycles (number)	28,088	21,058	29	14	397 tons	163 tons
From U.K.	1,898	814	—	3	30 "	8 "
Rubber (raw)	0.15	0.11	0.77	0.76	0.56	0.21
From B.E.	0.13	0.05	0.70	0.71	0.18	0.09
Petroleum	21.3	18.8'	29.1	24.4	23.5	21.0
Petrol	5.3	7.0	16.8	17.6	5.1	4.4
From U.K.	0.7	0.4	—	0.4	0.1	0.3
Naphtha and Mazout	3.8	7.1	12.9	7.2	18.5	15.3
Lubricating oil	2.8	2.8	2.0	3.4	4.0	4.0

Table No. 3 — Principal Exports of the Baltic States and United Kingdom's share therein

Principal Exports of the Baltic States and United Kingdom's share therein

	Estonia		Latvia		Lithuania
	1938	1937	1938	1937	1938	1937
	( i n t h o u s a n d s o f t o n s )
Live Animals :
Pigs (number in thous.)	81	34	119	80	153	138
Food :
Potatoes	19.9	23.8	5.2	2.1	19.7	0.1
To U.K.	0.7	2.7	—	—	—	—
Bacon and pork	2.2	2.1	1.9	1.9	11.8	11.7
To U.K.	2.2	2.1	1.9	1.9	9.9	9.9
Other meat products	1.4	1.4	0.2	—	5.3	1.8
To U.K.	0.2	0.2	—	—	0.6
Butter	14.7	13.2	23.5	19.2	17.4	14.9
To U.K.	9.2	8.1	17.1	10.8	11.7	10.3
Eggs (in thousand long hundreds)	340	336	153	198	720	642
To U.K.	147	281	110	90	481	455
Timber and timber materials :
Logs and sleepers	18	23	120	174	56	63
To U.K.	1.3	1.7	57	81	30	17
Props	52	87	101.9	517	9.3	8.2
To U.K.	28	85	49.8	367	—	6.1
Boards and planks	165	271	112.8	126.6	93.6	115
	( i n 1 , 0 0 0 s t a n d a r d s )
To U.K.	89	163	64.7	68.6	46.0	69
Plywood and chair backs	15.4	20 0	52.8	56.8	5.2	6.3
To U.K.	10.0	13.8	18.5	2.2	5.1
Cellulose	80.3	76.5	12.2	7.8	49.9	69.0
To U.K.	31.6	25.0	5.5	3.4	18.0	25.0
Paper	8.5	9.2	8.5	11.7	—	—
To U.K.	1.0	0.8	1.7	2.6	—	—
Textiles :
Flax	5.3	4.3	10.9	7.4	10.2	9.4
To U.K.	2.7	1.8	7.3	3.8	4.7	4.4
Tow	0.9	1.9	0.7	0.3	8.2	6.4
To U.K.	0.5	0.2	0.2	5.0	4.2
Sheet glass	3.8	1.7	—	—	—	—
To U.K.	2.5	0.6	—	—	—	—
Shale oil	62.4	63.9	—	—	—	—

Trade with the United Kingdom, Germany and U.S.A.

The principal trading partners of the Baltic States were the United Kingdom and Germany who absorbed two-thirds of their exports and provided half of their imports. Next to the United Kingdom and Germany the third country in importance in foreign trade relations with the Baltic States was the United States of America. In percentages the respective shares of the United Kingdom, Germany and U.S.A. in trade with the Baltic States, according to the League of Nations Statistical Year-Book on Foreign Trade, were as follows:

Table No. 4 — The Baltic States' Trade with the United Kingdom, Germany and U.S.A.

The Baltic States' Trade with the United Kingdom, Germany and U.S.A.

	Estonia
	1935		1937		1938
	Imports	Exports	Imports	Exports	Imports	Exports
	%	%	%	%	%	%
United Kingdom	17.9	36.6	16.7	33.9	17.9	34.0
Germany	29.8	22.5	26.1	30.5	31.1	31.4
U.S.A.	9.2	3.7	8.2	2.8	6.6	4.4

[%-age of all*]	56.9	62.8	51.0	67.2	55.6	69.8
10
	Latvia
	1936		1937		1938
	Imports	Exports	Imports	Exports	Imports	Exports
	%	%	%	%	%	%
United Kingdom	21.4	34.9	20.7	38.4	19.3	41.9
Germany	38.4	30.8	27.1	35.1	39.0	33.5
U.S.A.	7.0	4.7	7.0	1.1	6.3	1.4

[%-age of all*]	66.8	70.4	54.8	74.6	64.6	76.8

	Lithuania
	1936		1937		1938
	Imports	Exports	Imports	Exports	Imports	Exports
	%	%	%	%	%	%
United Kingdom	36.5	48.4	27.3	46.4	30.9	39.4
Germany	9.2	10.8	21.8	16.6	24.5	26.8
U.S.A.	2.8	3.5	3.5	3.8	3.7	2.4

[%-age of all*]	48.5	62.7	52.6	66.8	59.1	68.6

* our addition

Trade with the United Kingdom

The foreign trade turnover of the United Kingdom with the Baltic States during the last three pre-war years, according to the returns of the British Board of Trade, was as follows :

Table No. 5 — United Kingdom's Trade with the Baltic States

United Kingdom's Trade with the Baltic States

	1936	1937	1938
	£	£	£
Estonia
Imports	1,933,881	2,260,633	2,067,466
Exports	732,809	1,291,024	937,587
Re-exports	204,012	289,276	231,516
Latvia
Imports	3,411,875	5,355,149	4,594,778
Exports	1,245,566	1,698,486	1,677,588
Re-exports	125,662	146,146	133,001
Lithuania
Imports	2,990,893	3,272,185	3,086,423
Exports	1,647,249	1,874,103	2,117,073
Re-exports	92,126	88,408	107,426

The principal imports from the Baltic States into the United Kingdom were dairy produce, timber and timber materials, cellulose, and flax (see Table No. 3); and the principal exports were coal and coke, textiles, various kinds of machinery, motor vehicles, herrings and sugar (see Table No. 2).

Trade with the U.S.A.

The principal imports of the Baltic States from the U.S.A. were raw cotton, motor vehicles, mineral oils, sulphur, dried fruits and tobacco ; and the principal exports were cellulose, butter, meat and fish conserves, flax and linseed. Between the two World Wars the balance of trade between the Baltic States and the U.S.A. has always been adverse for the Baltic States (cf. Table No. 4). In 1938 the imports of the Baltic States from the U.S.A. totalled $4.5 millions and the exports to the U.S.A., $2.4 millions. Among imports, cotton accounted for $2 millions and motor vehicles and oils each for %1 million. Cellulose was the main item of export from the Baltic States to the U.S.A., amounting in 1938 to $1,6 millions or two-thirds of the total value of exports. 11

Below we give statistics relating to the principal items of import in 1938 from the U.S.A. to the Baltic States :

Table No. 6 — Principal Imports from U.S.A. in 1938

Principal Imports from U.S.A. in 1938

	Estonia	Latvia	Lithuania
Cotton (raw, tons)	3,415	3,804	389
Private cars (number)	76	93	179
Lorries (chassis, number)	59	68	89
Parts of motor vehicles (tons)	26	388	19
Motor-cycles (number)	1	2	49
Tractors	201	7	57
	(tons)	(number)	(number)
Sulphur (raw, tons)	4,064	—	—
Petroleum (tons)	3,416	10,059	—
Petrol "	783	7,530	122
Gas-oil "	700	1,197	—
Lubricating oil (tons)	1,328	526	2,198
Naphtha "	—	6,810	—

United Kingdom's Trade with the Baltic States and other Countries of European Middle Zone and Soviet Russia

To illustrate the position of the Baltic States as consumers of British manufactured goods, a table of foreign trade statistics between the United Kingdom and countries of the European Middle Zone and Soviet Russia is given below (according to the returns of the Board of Trade) :

Table No. 7 — United Kingdom's Trade with the Baltic States and other Countries of the European Middle Zone and Soviet Russia

United Kingdom's Trade with the Baltic States and other Countries of the European Middle Zone and Soviet Russia

	Imports (from)	Exports (to)
	Average of 1936-38	Average of 1936-38
	in millions of £
Finland	20.0	5.2
(Population 3.5 millions)
Baltic States (total)	9.7	4.4
(Population 6 millions)
S. Russia	22.5	4.4
(Population 170 millions)
Poland	10.1	5.3
(Population 34 millions)
Central Europe (total)	16.1	5.7
Including :
Hungary	2.4	0.5
(Population 9 millions)
Czecho-Slovakia	6.7	2.3
(Population 16 millions)
Austria	2.2	1.5
(Population 7 millions)
Rumania	4.8	1.4
(Population 18 millions)
Balkan States (total)	5.4	4.6
Including :
Yugoslavia	2.5	1.0
(Population 15 millions)
Bulgaria	0.8	0.3
(Population 6 millions)
Greece	2.1	3.3
(Population 6 millions)

The above table proves that, with the exception of Finland, the Baltic States were, per capita of population, by far the best customers for British manufactured goods amongst the nations of the middle European zone, The Baltic States bought from the United Kingdom 12 exactly as many British manufactured goods as the whole of Soviet Russia, with a population twenty-eight times as large. Per capita the Baltic States purchased five times more British goods than Poland, six times more than the Central European countries, and four times more than the Balkan States. These disparities in purchasing power demonstrate very clearly the importance of the Baltic States for British industry.

It should, however, be emphasized that the markets of the Baltic States were far from being fully exploited by British exporters, and in this respect there remained a considerable scope for expansion. In the course of their rapid all-round economic development these countries required industrial goods in ever-increasing quantities. Given time, they would eventually have attained parity with the Scandinavian States, which, in their turn, were the biggest potential buyers of British goods among foreign countries.

SynopsisFacsimileTranscriptionContents Tables Introduction I. General InformationII. Pre-War Foreign Trade ►III. Economic Reconstruction IV. Reconstruction of Industry V. Post-War Foreign Trade VI. Conclusion Imprint View all

1942These Names Accuse 1942A Shepherd Died 1943 1943Polish–Soviet Break 1944Latvian Central Committee

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