888
PORTUGAL
Wine is the most important piodnct ; tlu^ export in 1897 consisted of 47,372,230 litres of common wine ; 267,150 litres of liquenr wine ; 2,417,360 litres of Madeira ; 28,099,230 litres of port. Most of the wine shipped at Oporto is sent to Brazil and to England, considerable tjuan titles being ex- ported also to the Portuguese colonies.
The subjoined table gives the total value of the imports from Portugal into the United Kingdom and of the exports of British produce to Portugal, in the last five years, according to the Board of Trade returns : —
—
1893
1894
1895
1896
1897
£
£
£
£
£
Imports into U. K.
from Portugal .
2,377,892
2,390,065
2,491,926
2,616,662
2,652,713
Exports of British
produce to Por-
tugal
1,739,090
1,445,676
1,461,501
1,535,908
1,416,887
The recorded quantities, values, and origin or destination of imports and exports are those presented in the declarations to the Customs houses, the values being reduced to averages.
Wine is the staple article of import from Portugal into the United Kingdom, the value amounting in 1897 to 1,141,704Z, Other imports from Portugal are:— copper ore and regulus, 126,040^ ; cork, 408, 419^.; fruits, 149,361^. ; fish, 212,517^.; onions,' 40,049/. ; avooI, 120,696/.; caoutchouc, 72,197/. The exports of British home produce to Portugal embrace cotton goods and yarn to the value of 342,984/. ; iron, wrought and unwrought, valued at 212,305/. ; Avoollens and worsted, 38,618/. ; butter, 26,678/. ; coal, 230,004/. ; machinery, 156,919/. in 1897.
The sulijoined table shows the quantity and declared value of wine imported into the United Kingdom from Portugal in each of the last five years : —
Years
Quantities
Value
Gallons
&
1893
3,181,841
978,617
1894
3,096,649
944,139
1895
3,363,451
1,026,198
1896
3,571,520
1,058,841
1897
3,957,505
1,141,704
In 1897 the total imports of Avine from all countries into the United Kingdom amounted to 17,559,284 gallons, valued at 6,433,934/.; conse- quently the imports from Portugal were 22 per cent, of the total quantity, and 18 per cent, of the total value of the wine imported.
Shipping, Navigation, and Internal Communications.
The commercial navy of Portugal consisted on January 1, 1898, of 286 vessels of 77,835 tons, including 47 steamers of 35,583 tons net.
Including vessels merely calling at ditierent ports, the shipping (foreign
