ABSTRACT
A ll countries keep and publish records of the value of their exports and imports. It is not to be supposed that these records are extremely accurate ; but, in dealing with very large numbers, errors tend to neutralize each other and the figures present a very broad approximation to fact. The British returns, like those of most other nations, reckon the price of the goods at the port, that is to say the imports are reckoned c.i.f. (cost, insurance, freight); that is, including cost of transport from the place of origin ; while the exports are reckoned f.o.b. (free on board), that is to say excluding cost of transport to their destination. So that, for instance, goods leaving England for Australia will appear at a higher figure in the Australian imports than they do in the English exports, the difference representing the cost of transport. The difference between the value of the imports and the exports of a country is called the Balance of Trade.
