THE GRAIN HARVEST.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 69, 22 March 1915, Page 4

THE GRAIN HARVEST.

EMBARGO ON OATS. Ai _ (By Telegraph.—Press Association.)

* WEl__maTQjr, Sunday. There has been a little complaint about the embargo on the export of oats which • the Government have imposed. The Prime Minister, the Bight Hon. W. F. Massey, explained, on Saturday, however, that the reasons for -prohibiting the export were so strong and so-urgent that the Government had to act upon them.

"The Registrar-General has reported to mc," said Mr. Massey, "that ing to the estimate of his Department, the yield of the present oat harvest will be 10,00C(,000 bushels. The ordinary consumption of the Dominion per year is 13,000,000 bushels. Stocks were practically exhauted before the new crop came in, so that if the estimate is approximately correct, there will be a shortage of 3,000,000 bushels. The Southland harvest is going on now, and the crop is a good one. It i 3 just possible that the yield of oats in Southland will be greater than the Registrar-Gen-eral's estimate, but, until we get the threshing mill returns, we cannot reviao our decision to stop export." The prohibition applies also to oaten sheaf chaff, but the export of straw chaff will be allowed.