Canada Hopes To Sell More Wheat To China

Press, Volume C, Issue 29638, 7 October 1961, Page 11

Canada Hopes To Sell More Wheat To China

<NZ. Press Asm.—Copy ng nt> OTTAWA, October 6, Canada was confident Communist China would pay her bills, and she hoped to sell more wheat to the Peking regime on credit, the Canadian Agriculture Minister (Mr Alvin Hamilton) said yesterday.

He was commenting, in reply to reporters’ questions, on the opinion of an Australian economist that Communist China’s economy was so poor that Australian credit sales might never be paid for. the Canadian Press said.

Canada now has a 30-month long-term commitment to sell China 185.000,000 bushels of wheat Mr Hamilton said he believed China would want to buy more wheat when this agreement expired. Current Canadian sales are made on the basis of a 25 per cent down payment with the balance payable in 273 days, according to the Canadian Press. - The Australian sales are based on a 10 per cent down payment with the balance payable in 12 months.

Fem Discounted Mr Hamilton discounted the fears expressed by the Australian Director of the Institute of Research in Agriculture and Economics at Oxford University, Mr R. Clark. The Minister said China’s

economic situation was as low last April when Canada negotiated the long-term commitment as it was now. “I think the Chinese as a people have a good record for paying their bills,” Mr Hamilton said. China was exporting rice and selling it at a higher price a ton than.it was paying for imported wheat, he said. “I believe China will need wheat beyond the present 30-month term and will want to build up her credit,” he commented. The Minister said a Chinese delegation was coming to Ottawa and he hoped to negotiate another sale. “I hope we can make a good deal because the price has gone up again and I want our agreement extended,” be said. Plane Revised The “New York Times” said yesterday that the “sombre outlook" concerning the Chinese harvest appeared to be forcing radical revisions in Peking's

plans for an industrial “leap forward.”

The critical situation also appeared to explain indications that the Chinese Communists were about to sell large amounts of gold bullion in London for exchangeable currency.

Widespread food shortages were 'reported from China this year in spite of Peking’s purchases of 5,890,000 metric tons of grain from abroad for 1961 delivery.

Of this total, mostly wheat, 2.520,000 tons came from Canada and 2,270,000 tons from Australia.

The newspaper said State Department officials noted that the agricultural crisis and the heavy cost of grain imports were now acknowledged to have had a predictable impact on the rest of the Chinese economy. The Chinese committed 340 milion dollars for the 1961 grain purchases, paying 220 miHion dollars outright and deferring the rest for payment in 1962.