Less Bread For French, Slashing Dollar Imports

Northern Advocate, 28 August 1947, Page 7

Less Bread For French, Slashing Dollar Imports

(Received 10.30 a.m.) PARIS, August 27. CABINET has decided to reduce the daily bread ration from 250 to 200 grammes from September 1 in view of the “deplorable state” of the harvest and the unprecedented deficit expected between France’s needs and her available potential supplies. The new ration will mean that the French will get just over 31b of bread a week compared with the British ration of 411 b.

Reliable sources state France intends to slash severely all imports from dollar countries except such essentials as wheat and coal. France had a dollar deficit equalling £52.500,000 on a planned £112,500,000 import programme, so vast reductions in imports are necessary. The Director-General of FAO (Sir John Boyd-Orr) appealed to the world’s

Press through correspondents at Geneva, to aid in pressing governments to establish a world food council which would relieve the impending European winter food crisis.

He added that Governments were afraid to move. Only the Press and public opinion could force them. “If you agree to the basic principle, give me a hand,” he said.