WHEAT RETURNS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 18 June 1924, Page 3

WHEAT RETURNS.

a— —— LOW FIGURES FOR DOMINION. COMPARISON WITH PAST SEASONS. The threshing figures relating to wheat up to May 20, just issued by the Government Statistician, give a return of 3,522,964 bushels. Although these, figures are not final they may be regarded as nearly s o. The bulk of the /wheat crop in the Dominion this season has now been threshed and harvested, and it is unlikely that there are returns for more than another half million bushels to come to hand. If this is so, the yield of wheat in the Dothis year will be about 4,000,000 bushels. W T ith the exception of the season 1919-20, when only about four and a half million ’bushels of wheat were produced, it is over twenty years since the quantity fell so low as four million bushels.

The small quantity of wheat produced tins season was due to the unfavourable weather last winter and in the early spring months preventing sowing. This resulted in a smaller acreage than usual being put down in wheat, and the hot, dry weather experienced durum the summer reduced the yield which has been averaged out at 24.20 bushels an aeie. Last season the yield per acre was 30.44 bushels, and only on four occasions since the season 1899. 1900 has the yield fallen below twentyfive bushels.

To show how short the production of v neat has been in the Dominion this season it is estimated that New Zealand annually requires an average of about 7.500,000 bushels. Of this "total about 6,800,000 bushels are required for milling, and of the remaining 700 000 bushels about 400,000 are required for -seed ..purposes and 300,000 for fowl wheat. It is probable, therefore, that three and a half million bushels of wheat will have to be imported into the Dominion this season. Already several shipments have been brought across from Australia and more have been arranged for. The public of New Zealand are fortunate in this respect that the price ot wheat is comparatively low in Australia this year, and that tfie Government has therefore been able to make its purchases at prices which do not involve putting up the price of bread. In several years during the past it has, of course, been necessary to import to make up the shortage of New Zealand produced wheat, but never m the history of the Dominion has it been necessary to import so much wheat as will be required to make up this season’s deficiency.