EUROPEAN COAL SHORTAGE

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26266, 10 November 1950, Page 7

EUROPEAN COAL SHORTAGE

BRITISH STOCKS LOW FOR WINTER

(Rec. 7 p.m.) LONDON. Nov. 9. Industrial correspondents draw attention to the accumulating evidence of an approaching coal shortage throughout Europe and to the fact that Britain opens th« winter coal season with stocks well below what is regarded as the safety margin. The latest statistics from the Fuel Ministry show that at the beginning of November 15.4 million tons were held in reserve as distributed stocks. The Government earlier this year fixed the level needed to obviate the possibility of a fuel crisis, if bad weather set in, at 16.5 million tons, although the target was later reduced to 15.75 million tons.

Correspondents say that with production unable to match increasing internal consumption, Britain will have to /sacrifice exports to Europe even more, in order to build up her own stocks. Knowing that a general coal shortage is developing at a time when most countries are starting re-arma-ment and stock-piling programmes, the "Financial Times” industrial correspondent says that as Britain is unable to give them further supplies, the European doal-impo.ting countries are turning increasingly to Germany to make up their coal stocks. “However they are finding German production from the Ruhr already heavily oversold both to home and export consumers, while deliveries on many of current German commitments are greatly in arrears." says the correspondent. "Germany, like Britain, is scaling down further export contracts, in particular to Holland and Italy. A number of Eurooean buyers appear likely to face a crisis if their stocks have to be drawn on to any great degree, and the difficulties of these two countries in particular are becoming acute “The Dutch Government is now issuing Import permits automatically wherever coal is offered, and Italy is considering allocating dollars to import coal from the United States.”