FOOD EXPORTS TO BRITAIN

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25282, 6 September 1947, Page 9

FOOD EXPORTS TO BRITAIN

Increases Planned By Australia WHEAT, MEAT, AND CHEESE (Rec. 11.30 p.m.) CANBERRA, Sept. 5. Aided by a favourable rainfall which may produce a record crop of Australian wheat, Australia is aiming to ship 85,000,000 bushels to Britain during the coming season. Officials claim that it is possible that Britain will not have to buy wheat from America. The Minister of Commerce (Mr R. T. Pollard) has pledged a 25 percent, increase in meat exports, a 5 per cent, increase in butter exports, and a 55 per cent, increase in cheese exports. Primary producers consider that this must mean a reduction in the Australian meat ration.

More Australian meat and wheat will go to, Britain this year as a result of negotiations between the British Secretary for Commonwealth Relations (Lord Addison) and Mr Pollard. Lord Addison said he was “very gratified and a bit surprised” to learn that Australia would be able to increase her beef and lamb exports in spite of the drought losses of recent years. He also hinted that Britain and Australia were discussing a long-term wheat agreement. At present Australia’s surplus wheat is distributed at the direction of the International Wheat Board. The most encouraging feature was that Australia would be able to send 50,000,000 bushels of wheat to Britain this season, said Lord Addison. Last year Britain received only 6,000,000 bushels of the 40,000,000 bushels exported from Australia. At the direction of the Wheat Board, India and other Eastern countries received the bulk of the exports. Distribution is arranged primarily to make the best use of shipping but it has meant that Britain was supplied largely from Canada and the united States and had io pay dollars for her wheat. The transfer of the greater part of the Australian wheat export to Britain would effect a substantial dollar saving. A similar position exists in meat exports, with Britain buying from the Argentine and paying in dollars. Lord Addison said that in spite of disastrous drought losses. Mr Pollard and others had given him a fairly confident expectation of increased meat supplies.