WHEAT SUPPLIES

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 74, 21 December 1937, Page 10

WHEAT SUPPLIES

Possibility Of A Serious Crop Shortage

PRESENT DEPENDENCE ON IMPORTS Bj' Telegraph.—Press Association. Christchurch, December 20. The necessity in the last two seasons of importing wheat and the diminution of wheat crops grown in the Dominion have focused the attention of the Government, on the possible effect on New Zealand’s food supply of a war if shipping was disorganised as it has been in years past by war, and wheat was not procurable from overseas. The New Zealand crop at the present rate of production might be insufficient by a big margin to supply New Zealand’s needs.

The Organisation for National Security, which, under the control of Cabinet, is secretly working toward an ideal of making New Zealand self-support-ing in the event of any national emergency, has taken official recognition of the wheat position, it is stated. The decision of the Minister of Industries and Commerce, Hon. D. G. Sullivan, to announce wheat prices for future seasons as early as possible so that farmers can plan their wheat, acreage seasons ahead is believed to have been prompted by a realisation of the urgent need for the Dominion to be in a position to meet its own wheat requirements. Wheatgrowers have stated that if they knew the price in advance a much greater acreage could be planted. Serious as a crop shortage might be in time of emergency when shipping facilities were not readily available to bring wheat importations from overseas, the position is said to have an even niore serious side. The growing use of tractors on farms has made petrol an absolute necessity on very many farms. It is stated that were that petrol supply to be cut off, New Zealand’s agricultural production must drop to a considerable extent. On many farms no horses at all are kept, and the number of tractors at present working would need to be replaced by about 60,000 draught horses if farm production was to be kept pt its present level without petrol supplies in the country. On Year Book statistics it is claimed that the number of draught horses is a long way short of the number that would be required if tractors were not used, and as it is known that only a few months’ petrol supply is kept in New Zealand at one time a sudden cessation of importation of motor fuel would place the Dominion in an extremely serious position in the production of foodstuffs.

It is known that the Organisation for National Security keeps in close touch with petrol importers about stocks, so that if an emergency arose present stocks might be rationed to serve the whole community, but even under rationed use the stocks now in the Dominion could not be expected to last more than a year.

These factors have been a powerful agent, it is certain, in furthering the desire of the Government to have natural oilfields discovered in this' country and they have also been used as arguments for the case of those who support the provision of a coal carbonisation plant in the Dominion, The position undoubtedly is that if imports were restricted a wheat crop of the same proportions of this year's in New Zealand would be insufficient to feed the country, an'd even if it were sufficient, production might be sadly curtailed by a lack of petrol caused by the same hold-up of shipping that would prevent the importation of foodstuffs.