DANISH THREAT

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 83, 5 October 1933, Page 22

DANISH THREAT

DEMAND OF FARMERS

KRONE RATE ON LONDON

(From "The Post's" Representative.) : ,/■ LONDON, August 10.. Acectding to a message from Copenhagen to-,the "Financial Times," the Danish agriculturists are threatening to effect a renewed.- depreciation •of tlie krone exchange rate on London by withh6lding tho sterling proceeds of products sold in England. Though the Danish Government, a Socialist Administration with an ample majority in tho Lower House, has done a good deal to help the farming com-, munity,. whose-difficulties -.under, the: great depression have been\ enormous, agricultural interests, still feel they have a grievance. •' ■■ The measures taken by the Government during tho past year to help the farmer include, tbe destruction of cattle and the distribution of free meat to the unemployed, so as to raise the price of meat; the regulation, of pig production,-.so as to • raise- the price of pork and bacon; the passage of a moratorium, law to protect farmers from, foreclosure; the depreciation, of the Danish krone by about 20 per cent. b«low'sterling, in order to increase the kroner yield of produce exported to Great Britain. But the farmer, and particularly the j farmer of South Jutland—or1 North Schleswig, as it was known, when, under German domination.—remains un appeased.. Leaders of a radical farmers' organisation, very strongly entrenched in South Jutland, are threatening to withhold their milk (and hence their cream and butter) from the market. What is much more serious, they are also threatening to take action to bring the krone rate on London down to 30 to the £~ as compared with the present stabilisation level of 22,50. GOVERNMENT'S WARNING. The Government, naturally, refuses to. give way to his form of dictation. It has, warned the farmers that it intends to take every step to protect the present level of the currency. Moreover, it has advised the farmers that any further depreciation of the local currency might well compel the British Government to apply anti-dumping provisions against Danish exports. The suggestion is that the farmers should withhold tbe sterling proceeds of products sold in England for as long a period as possible; The cheques derived, from sales of this produce would simply be put away for the maximum period the farmer can stand. As roughly 80 per cent, of Danish exports are agricultural produce, and about 75 per cent, of this goes to Great Britain, it is not difficult to see that the withholding of foreigu exchange by the farming community even for a week would make a great difference to the country's foreign exchange reserves. It is not the first time the farmers have brought pressure of this kind on the Government, and up to the present they have been fairly successful. ■