“No Surplus While People Hunger”

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30092, 28 March 1963, Page 15

“No Surplus While People Hunger”

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter —Copyright) BOSTON, March 27. As long as there are hungry people in the world, there can be “no real surplus of food” in the United States, says the United States Secretary of Agriculture, Mr Orville Freeman.

Mr Freeman, in a speech to the Advertising Club in Boston yesterday, claimed that United States abundance was “an asset.’ America, he said, had sold or given away since 1954 almost 11.300 m dollars' worth at food to more than 1300 m people in more than 100 countries Mr Freeman also brief!;, outlined what he thought of Communist agriculture and he found nothing good to say about it “In Red China.” he said, “the much-heralded step forward in agriculture has been followed by a mile run in the othei direction. “Mis-management. compounded by weather. has created chaos m the Chinese agriculture "Food output has not increased beyond the 1958 level—and it may even have declined —while each year China has had 15m new mouths to feed

‘The blight of communism is equally evident in Cuban agriculture ” he said

Cubans now got one-third less fats and beans per capita and over 40 oer, cent less rice ’han they did’ before Dr Fidel Castro’s rise to power he said

Sugar production nad fallen far short of Cuba’s commitments »r -her Commun-ist-bloc countries, he said

In Russia itself, the Soviet Prime Minister (Mr Khrushchev) had openly confessed that the apparatus of agricultural management must be radically rebuilt. Production of meat, milk and grain was far behind schedule.