DEMAND FOR PHOSPHATES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19470, 28 October 1926, Page 10

DEMAND FOR PHOSPHATES.

THE SUPPLY FROM NAURU. STATEMENT BY MINISTER. [BY TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.] WELLINGTON, Wednesday. In view of the importance to the Dominion of an adequate supply of phosphates, and the fact that New Zealand is already absorbing more than her allotted share of the output of Nauru the Government was recently urged by. the executive of the Farmers' Onion to take an early opportunity of getting an alteration in the Nauru agreement m order to secure to New Zealand a larger share of that output. The Minister of Agriculture, Hon. 0. J. Hawken, has replied that the question of the. reallocation of the proportions for each country had been taken up -with Britain and Australia, but, after some communications had' passed, - it was deferred at the request of Britain. A despatch from the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, in which this desire was expressed,, stated that, under, the present arrangements, the whole of .the United Kingdom -allotment which is not required is at the disposal of Australia and New Zealand, and, in the event of British consumers desiring fo. obtain large supplies from Nauru and Ocean Island, care would be taken to give reasonable notice. In the circumstances, continued the Minister, the request that the matter be deferred was agreed to by New Zealand and, having regard to the present position regarding phosphate supplies available far British manufacturers* it was not anticipated that Britain would require anv quantity from Nauru and Ocean Island for some years to come. At the same time, the matter had bee\i kept in mind, and it had been arranged that a full discussion of it with Britain and Australia would take place, at the Imperial Conference.