EXPORTS, a term used to describe goods sent out of a coun try by its traders. To the individual trader who sells abroad, ex ports result in individual profit which he receives by the process of exchange. The individual act of exportation made for personal gain is, however, of the greatest national and public importance. Few countries produce all the commodities they require for their convenient existence, and to obtain from abroad articles which are not produced at home it is necessary to pay for them by ex porting goods, securities, gold, or services. Hence the function of exportation, which from the national point of view represents one form of payment for importation. For full discussion and for sta tistical records of exportation reference should be made to the articles COMMERCE and EXPORT STATISTICS, and to economic de tails appended to the articles on each of the different nations.
The exportation from a nation may take the form of goods, gold, services or securities. The Custom Houses of nations take records of the goods sent out, and these are compiled as national statistics showing values and sometimes quantities also. These statistics form a valuable record of national progress. The exporta tion of services and securities is not precisely recorded, but esti mates have been formed for some nations from time to time. Because the exports of services do not appear in the trade ac counts published by the nations, they are sometimes called "in visible exports," a term invented by the late Sir Robert Giffen. For further particulars of invisible exports, reference should be made to the article BALANCE OF TRADE. (L. C. M.)