Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1941, Qupperneq 102

96
LE NORD
change which took place in the relative costs of conveyance in
the Baltic and the North Sea respectively, and since April 1940
competition from the West has, of course, ceased entirely.
Pari passu with the increase in imports, our exports to Ger-
many have increased. Payments for Swedish exports to Germany
have thus gone up from 226 mill. kronor in 1935 to 333 mill.
kronor in 193B, 392 mill. kronor in 1939, and 533 mill. kronor
in 1940.
We can thus look back on a steady increase of Swedish-Ger-
man trade during a period of years. The question which at present
engages Swedish exporters, perhaps with greater anxiety than
ever before, is of course how far we can count on a continued
development on the same lines during the present year too. If
we turn to the clearing statistics for an indication, we find that
payments during the period January ist — August ist 1941 to-
talled 460 mill. kronor, an increase of about 61 mill. kronor on
the same period of 1940. The busiest months in the Swedish-
German clearing are generally those of the summer and early
autumn; consequently it would not be unreasonable to suppose
that the clearing, during the present quarter of the year too,
will show a continued increase in payment figures. It is obvious,
on the other hand, that in the long run the war will necessarily
exercise a deleterious influence on our imports from Germany,
and consequently also on our exports to that country.
Trade with the North.
Trade with our neighbour countries in the North has per-
haps been of greater importance to Swedish exports than usually
realized. During a normal year like 1938 the value of our ex-
ports to Denmark, Finland, and Norway totalled about 300
mill. kronor, corresponding to about 16 per cent. of the total
value of Swedish exports. On the other hand, our imports from
these countries have always been at a considerably lower level
than the exports; in 1938 the total value of imports was only
about iéo mill. kronor, or just over 50 per cent. of the value
of our exports. Our neighbour countries have to a considerable
extent paid for their imports from Sweden with the export sur-
plus of their Western Trade, especially from their trade with
Great Britain. This basis for a Swedish export surplus in her
trade with the Northern neighbours has ceased to exist with