WHEAT PROSPECTS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 42, 13 November 1917, Page 8

WHEAT PROSPECTS

HOPE FOR A GOOD HARVEST

ENOUGH FOR REQUIREMENTS

THE GRAIN IN AUSTRALIA

The Minister of Agriculture (the Hon. -W. D. S. Mac Donald) expects to have all -the arrangements for the purchaso of "the next; season's wheat crop completed ■ - soon after the return of the members of -"the, Board of Trade from Christchurch :* to-day. According to the returns obtained by -the Government Statistician, the' wheat

"position promises to be veiy satisfactory "'in New Zealand next season. The re'"turns ehoi?: that the area under wheat "is • 293,000 acres,' whioh is 55,000 more ' rthan the area under crop last year. The harvest last year was disappointing, but " this; year, th? prtspects for a good har"Test are exceptionally promising. Report? from the wheat districts are that they 'ihave'never been better. The average crop for the Dominion is 28J bushels per acre, but as the crop this year promises to be better than average, it is reasonable to calculate on a 80-bushel crop. This will mean a yield for the- Dominion . of about eight and a half million bushels, and the total requirements of the Dominion, allowing for seed wheat and' ..seconds, is about eight million bushels.' If there should be a oarry-over of half a million bushels it will be exceedingly satisfactory.

For the present the arrangement is that the price in the coining season at which the Government will purchase the ■wheat is to be a flat rate of ss. lOd. per bushel. In filing the prices last year a difference waß made between Tuscan and the finer sorts of wheat, Pearl, Velvet, and Hunters. This year the Minister promised the farmers, in discussing the matter of the proposed purchase, that there would be a maximum rate of as. lOd. per bushel, but he decided later that as more than two-thirds of the crop would bo Tuscan, there would be a better chance of getting a sufficiently large yield if the price of Tuscan were raised to that allowed for Pearl, Velvet, and' Hunters. The Minister is no it of opinion that if .there is an abundant crop there will be no necessity for increasing the price for the* finer grades. Should adverse conditions arise lie will be prepared to consider whether the growers of the better qualities of wheat should not bo paid a slight increase on the flat rate, ,but if the present good prospects are fulfilled 53. lOd. should be a payable price to the growers of wheat.

The Government has been trying to arrange for some of tho overseas steamers loading partly in Australia and part ly in New Zealand to bring over some of the wheat purchased by the Government, aijd stiH lying in stores in Australiaj but up till the present without success. A special steamer is now load-, ing wheat in Australia for the New Zealand Government, and it seems possible that we shall have to rely on this steamer for the transport of the whole of this ..wheat' to the Dominion. In all there are about four full cargoes of vtheat in Australia awaiting shipment, but it is estimated that if two cargoes could be brought over without too much delay we should have sufficient wheat to tide us over the present crisis. The remainder after the two cargoes could come by the ordinary intercolonial steamers.