BRITAIN’S FOOD SUPPLIES

Greymouth Evening Star, 4 December 1940, Page 7

BRITAIN’S FOOD SUPPLIES

“MUST LIVE HARDER” [BY CABLE —PRESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT..] LONDON, December 2. Lord Woolton, Food Minister, in a speech, said: “We must live harder. We must use Home produce to the maximum, importing only necessary supplementary stocks of foods that already have been bought and are now lying in all parts of the world. We need more ships, and we must increase our ships’ usefulness by at least ten per cent. We cannot afford to bring in things that are not essential to the war. That is why I have cut out the imports of all fruits, except oranges, and also all canned fruits.

“My Christmas box to you is an undiminished meat ration, which ration will, hz’vever, be smaller in the near future. You may also have less bacon, from time to time, than you now are receiving.” Lord Woolton added: In order to take the offensive, we should have to use for military purposes part of that great mercantile fleet which has brought us food, from afar. 1940 had found Britain taking it, but 1941 would find Britain giving it back with interest. As we began to take the offensive, the world would cheer up. S. AFRICAN ANXIETY. LONDON, December 3. The “Daily Telegraph’s” Cape Town correspondent says Lord Woolton’s statement has alarmed South African fruitgrowers, who may lose £500,000 if the ban is applied this season. A permit was recently obtained from the Ministry of Food, to export 20,000 tons of fresh and 8000 tons of pulped fruit. The local markets cannot absorb the whole of the fruit crop, and growers fear a glut will cause a disastrous depression. in prices.