WHAT EXPORTS MEAN TO US Sending machinery to S. Africa ... means hides for Britain ... When you go shopping for shoes you take your money with you. When Britain goes shopping for the hides with which to make the shoes, she takes with her the things the hide-producing countries need in return. These are our exports—machinery, vehicles, chemicals and a vast variety of manufactured goods. They pay for much of the food we eat; they pay for most of the raw materials we need to keep our factories humming.