Wheat From Australia

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32274, 17 April 1970, Page 8

Wheat From Australia

At this stage it appeared as though New Zealand would have to import not less than 50,000 tons of wheat from Australia for milling requirements, the general manager of the Wheat Board, Mr L. C, Dunshea, said this week.

However he added that precise information on this subject would not be available until the results of a survey being conducted through the board’s brokers were to hand. This would indicated what wheat remained available for disposal and it might be a month or so before it was completed.

Mr Dunshea said that the Australian wheat would be going to the North Island and a start had been made with one ship now being on the run. Mills in Canterbury now had their wheat requirements, he said. The tail-end of the wheat was still being handled in west Otago and Southland and he believed that Dunedin mills would also get their requirements,

although North Otago might be short. Southland, however, would have a surplus and Canterbury would have wheat available for shipment. With the drought conditions overshadowing the feed grain position, Mr Dunshea said that there was

no difficulty In finding an outlet for undergrade wheat this year.

Mr Dunshea said that there had . been a very considerable displacement of wheat by barley and maize last year at cheaper prices, particularly in the North Island. At that time most of the crop was of milling standard and was shipped to the North Island at the full price. However this year with bug damage and sprouting there had been quantities of undergrade wheat on the market for feed.

In the coming season Mr Dunshea expects quite substantial sowings of wheat again. There had been no improvement in the prices of wool, he said, and with wheat growers knew what they would receive subject to the retention. Some of the areas affected by drought, although there had been a substantial recovery in growth, would be ploughed and would in the process go into wheat or other cereals. A problem last year had been the difficulty of cultivating at all on somq country.