THE WORLD'S WHEAT CROP.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCIII, Issue 10670, 3 June 1895, Page 6

THE WORLD'S WHEAT CROP.

The Liverpool Corn Tracts News com* menta as follows The publication by* the Bureau of Statistics at Washington of an estimate of the world’s wheat crop of 1894, compared with the crop of 1893, has had rather a bad effect. The excess of this season’s crop over that of 1893 is given at 160,000,000 bushels. Like another authority who published a report, about the -same time, the compilers have-, without any explanation, adopted all lie official forecasts that are excessive, and substituted for official forecasts, that are less than normal, large unofficial' estimates. We do not complain- of the adop* tion of private estimates, ini lieu of the official returns, when the latter are thoroughly belied by the subsequent movement of the crop, but the principle should be applied fairly all round. It is rathe* misleading also to include in tho rjituma of 1894 the great Argentine . crop- : harvested in December, 1893, as not a grain,; of that crop now exists. Our own method.* which at the time was adversely criticised in certain quarters, we still believe to hd the best under the • circumstances.

Let us see how the crops of this-season and last compare, accepting as.correct in all instances the official returns, but reckoning upon the Argentine crop last harvested as belonging to this season. The wheat crop of the chief countries, according to official data :

Total ... ... 2,034,000,000 3,026,000,00^ In fchose'bouutries which produce 85 pet cent of the world’s wheat crop there is anexcess, according to the official valuation, of 8,000,000 quarters in 1894 over; 1898i s which is‘practically the sameV qttantttjt as was given in the Corn Trade- Tear Book of Last autumn, namely 69,000,00® bushels. • v

In the above statement the'German crop is not included, nor the Spanish, aa nh official returns have' been issued for 1894 b The Argentine and Chilian figures are, of course, unofficial. The American official estimates for 1894 and 1893 are probably both under-esti-mated, the last season’s by , 60.000.000 and 1893 by 80,000,000 bushels. ■ The Eussian crop of 1894, if allowance be made for inferiority of natural weight, is probably about 20,000,000 bushels less;' than that of 1833. France could hardly have produced 42,000,000 quarters last summer and be still importing, the probability being that her crop was over estimated 10,000,000 or 15,000,000 bushels. India either grew less in 1894 than in 1893 or developed much larger internal requirements, which amounts to the same thing. We incline to the belief th* crop of 1894was over-estimated by 20,000,000 bushels.! Italy and Spain probably raised: 20.000,000 bushels more in 1894 than in 1893. With these modifications it will be seen that no more wheat was produced byj the recant harvest than by those of the previous season. . *■’

America 1894-95. Bushels. 460,009,000 1893-94. Bushels. 396,000,000 Canada ... «•« 42,000,000 43,000,000 Prance ... - 333,000,000 278,000, oap Russia, Poland and Caucasia iSl, 000,000 451.000. 200.000. Austria-Hungary 193,000,000 Eoumania... ... 44,000,000 58,00il,000 Italy 116,000,000 131,000,000 India 260,000,000 270,000,000 United Kingdom 60,000,000 51,000,000 Argentine 60,000,000 90,000,000 Australasia ... 33,000,0 0 6,000.000 40,000,000 Uruguay ... 5,000,000 Chili „. , ... 16,000,000 13,000,000