Part To Be Played By British Colonies In European Recovery

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXVII, Issue 14929, 17 March 1949, Page 4

Part To Be Played By British Colonies In European Recovery

INCREASED PRODUCTION OF ESSENTIAL COMMODITIES Over the next four years the United Kingdom is proposing to undertake a substantial net investment in the Colonies with the object of assisting those territories to finance increased imports of capital equipment and ether manufactures needed for their development, according to The Recorder (London). A high proportion of this investment will be devoted to the provision of basic services, such as health, education, communications and water supplies, but there are also schemes to develop Colonial production and to increase exports of food and raw materials.

Particulars of these proposals are contained in the Long Term Programme of the United Kingdom and the 1949-50 Programme, published jointly as a White Paper.

These programmes were drawn up at the request of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation, whidh invited each of the countries receiving Marshall Aid to prepare a general statement showin? how it hopes 'Ho achieve as soon as possible and maintain a satisfactory level of economic activity without extraordinary outside assistance.."

It is recognised by the United Kingdom Government that the Colonies can play an important part in the attaining of this objective, and Chapter V of the Long Term Programme deals specifically wi'th the contribution which those territories may be able to make, aided by capital investment from the United Kingdom. Expansion Essential At the same time it is stressed that the expansion of Colonial production and the subsequent increase in exports of food and raw materials is essential to the prosperity of Colonial peoples. Most of the British dependencies, which were free to accede individually, have agreed to join wi'th the United Kingdom in the European Recovery Programme as the needs of Colonial Development are complementary to those of European recovery. The Colonies require substantial assistance for the development in social progress and general living standards. The Long Term Programme recognises that this is one of the pri'me objectives of British Colonial policy. It is emphasised that this increase in trade and production must be conducted for the benefiit of the native populations and that there must be a parallel detail, capital investment supported by large imports of capital goods, while Europe's chief needs are food and raw materials. Increased Food Output Sugar and peanuts are among the items in the foodstuffs group in which the largest increases in outnut are envisaged. By 1952-53 it is hoped to increase Colonial sugar production to 1,400,000 tons annually, which would represent a 40 per cent, increase over the 1937-39 average. Steps are bemg taken to improve the efficiency of the industry in various dependencies and considerable sums are being spent qn research. Every effort is being made to increase the supply of fertilisers which hitherto have been the chief shortage affecting the industry. Sugar production in 1949 is estimated at 1.035,000 metric tons as against 895,000 metric tons in 1946. In the same four-year period a large increase in Colonial peanut production has been planned and by 1952-53 total exports are expected to reach 880,000 metric tons compared with 335,000 metric tons in 1946. Exports under the large mechanised schemes in East Africa are due to begin on a small scale in 1949 and when full production is reached in 1953 they are expected to increase to 460,000 tons annually. In West Africa it has been impossible in recent years to move all the peanut crop owing to the shortage of rolling-stock and locomotives. By 1950 these difficulties should have been overome.

Mineral Production

The United Kingdom's Long Term Programme also projects substantial increases in Colonial mineral production, particularly ,in regard to tin, bauxite, copper, cobalt and lead. The largest anticipated increase i's in the production of bauxite, which bv 1952-53 may rise to nearly two million tons, a more than twelve-fold increase over the 1936 figure.

Very substantial increases are expected in the production of copper, cobalt and lead in Northern Rhodesia and in Malayan tin. The production of rubber, the chief dollar-earning commodi'ty in the Commonwealth, is expected by 19f)2-53 to be more than twice the 1936 figure. Likely Difficulties

The main difficulties in connection with this programme of expansion are likely to be the shortage of available capital goods and of technical experts, and skilled labour. The extent of the first problem will depend on the amount of machinery and other heavy equipment which the United Kingdom and other countries participating in the Recovery Programme will be able to supply under their plans for increased production. This i'n turn depends largely on the actual development of the balance of payments in each country.

[n this connection the Long Term Programme • envisages that by 1952-53, the United Kingdom will have a favourable balance on current account of £IOO million.