Kraks Vejviser 1937 Handelsregister

progress which has taken place. How important a part this country plays in the world market, as far as agri­ cultural products are concerned, will be seen from the following figures. Untill 1935 Denmark was the chief- exporter of butter to the world market, but was this year exceeded by New Zealand. 1935 New Zealand ............................. 25,4 % Denmark ....................................... 22,9 % Australia .................................... 19,5 % Netherlands ................................ 7,7 % U. S. S. R....................................... 4,9 % Ireland ....................................... 4,5 % Sweden ....................................... 3,3 % Other countries ......................... 14,0 % Furtlier Denmark provides the world market with more than one half of the total bacon supplies, and about 27 % of the total egg supplies. For purposes of comparison it may be stated that the export values of the most important Danish agricultural products in the years 1915 and 1955 were as follows: 1913 1935 Mill. Kr. Mill. Kr. Live animals (exeluding fish) ............... 69 55 Bacon, meat and other slaughterhouse- products ........................................... 185 417 Butter and clieese ................................ 200 28s Fggs ........................................................... 53 89 Lard, condensed milk and other food­ stu ffs ................................................... 7 58 Seeds ..................................................... 4 10 The export of these products enables Denmark to procure the greater part of the numerous and very im- portant raw materials and goods which the country cannot produce itself, such as coal, iron, Chemicals, wea- ving materials etc. It sliould not be overlooked that the export value of the agricultural products includes also essential parts emanating from Danish industry, for instance fodder cakes, fertilizers, machinery and imple- ments, electric light and power plant, paoking etc. The industry is also responsible for the finishing processes at dairies, slaughteries, canneries, sugar refineries, brewerics etc. Agriculture in Denmark is carried on by a large number of independent conoerns comprising about 2000 large estates, 90.000 farms and some 115.000 small holdings. The production and sale of the goods are mainly based upon co-operation, and the co-operative purchasing societies likewise play a prominent part in this respect. Connected with the agriculture there exists a large number of research institutions, laboratories, controlling bodies etc. undertaking scientific experiments for the improvement of the soil, new methods of eultivation, control of seed, irivestigation of plant diseases, heredity research, milk yield etc. etc. and in addition there is also a large number of special technical schools. The Danish agricultural products —The national marks see page 23. Danish Industries. The vastly improved means of transportation in Den­ mark in conjunction with the pre-eminently advantageous geographic situation of the country, its extensive coast- line with many excellent ports facilitating imports of raw materials and exports of finished products, have highly favoured and accelerated the industrial develop- ment in Denmark during the last sixty years. A charact-

The development of Denmark’s foreign trade during the last fifty years appears from the following figures:

Total exports Mill. Kr. 162

Total imports Mill. Kr.

............... 249

18S5............ 1895 ............

269 534 721

1905 ............ ............... 623 1915............ ............... 855 1955 ............ ............... 1350 1268 The total quantity of goods imported in 1955 amounted to 10.6 mill. tons, and the total exports during the same year amounted to 2,0 mill. tons. The average value of these exports was 5 times higher than that of the imports, which is accounted for by the faet that Den­ mark imports crude heavy raw materials in considerable quantities and exports agricultural products on a large scale. The following figures for the year 1935 indicate the total values of Danish exports to, and imports from the countries with which Denmark does most trade: Mill. Kr. Mill. Kr

U. S. S. R. (in Fu- rope) ................ Switzerland............ Argentine ............ Spain ................... Czecho-Slovakia .. Baltie Border States Brazil ................... Dutch Fast Indies.. Italy .....................

Great Britain . . . . 1211 Germany ............... 498 Sweden ............... 172 Norway ............... 89 United Stales of America ............ 79 Netherlands 54 France ................... 48 Belgium ............... 48 Finland ............... 41 Poland & Danzig .. 54

29 26 25 20 18 17 17 16 15

Agriculture in Denmark. About 75 % of the total arca of Denmark is under eultivation, and some 8,5 % is covered with forests and plantations. During the period from 1866 to 1929 the cul- tivated acreage has been increased by 440,000 hectares and the woodland acreage by 190,000 hectares. From what has been stated above regarding the natural conditions of the country it follows that agriculture would become the leading industry in the modern trade development, or what may be termed the industrial revo­ lution in Denmark. The decisive change took place in the period between 1870 and 1890 when, as a consequence of the unfavourable development of prices on the world grain market, the Danish farmers, who had hitherto mainly cultivated grain, now promptly and witJi unique adaptitude took up the intensive production of raw materials for the food industry for export. Sinee the year 1880 the harvest yield in Denmark has doubled, and during the same period the number of head of horned cattle has more than doubled. There are now six times as many pigs and more than six times as much poultry as in the year of 1880. It may be reckoned that the 90 % of the crops of grain, grass and turnips, serves as fodder for the livestock. The remaining 10 % covers the eultivation of sugar beet and the important export products, seeds and malting barley. At the same time the agriculture imports a very large quantity of feeding stnffs, fertilizers etc. to a value of about 180 million Kroner. The greater part of the products of agriculture undergo a finishing in­ dustrial process in dairies, slaughteries etc. prior to export. Since 1870 the value of the annual exports of industrialized agricultural products from Denmark has increased from about 12 million Kroner to more than 900 million Kroner. The faet that the agricultural population during the whole of this periods has remained practically the same, bears witness to the great technical