THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS SATURDAY, JUNE 16, 1928. THE FOOD OF THE EMPIRE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19974, 16 June 1928, Page 10

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS SATURDAY, JUNE 16, 1928. THE FOOD OF THE EMPIRE.

Farmers from the British Dominions who are touring the United Kingdom have been visiting those London markets where foodstuffs from the uttermost parts of the earth, destined to fill the larders of the British people, are handled and distributed. They have been permitted a glimpse at the working of the great organisation which feeds Britain, the organisation that usually works with so little notice, that was so vividly realised when war and the submarine campaign threatened to cut off its sources of supply. During a function arranged in honour of the visitors, a London alderman, laying emphasis on the increasing tendency of Britain to look abroad for supplies, urged his hearers to develop the great market for essentia] foodstuffs that exists because of the many wants of the British people. Advantage of it is taken by Empire producers to a very marked extent, but, as is recognised at both ends of the chain of supply, there is opportunity for more of this essential trade to be kept in the family ; that is, within the limits of the Empire. To have it so would be an economic strengthening in time of peace and, up to a point, a national safeguard in war. There is, with good reason, a strong disinclination to discuss any Empire or international subject in terms *of a possible future war. It is not pleasant to count war as a factor, but individuals and nations being what they are, it must be taken into account. The long line of transport required to bring Britain her food is one anxiety. It would be well, therefore, to I:>e assured that the sources of supply were in the Empire, so that the danger of their being closed by belligerency could be prevented from becoming another. There is no lack of information to show how far Britain is supplied with foodstuffs from Empire sources, and how far she is dependent on foreign countries. The Impeiial Economic Committeo collected an invaluable mass of data on this point; though the figures refer for the most part to the years 1923 and 1924, they can be accepted as reasonably typical. Home production is naturally put first. It is generally, if vaguely, known that the Lnited Kingdom is very far from being selfsupporting in the essential foods. The committee's statistics show that of the great staples, the home producer docs not in any instance supply one half of the annual consumption. The nearest approach to this is with beef and veal. Fortyfour per cent, of what was consumed in 1921 was home-grown, 13 per cent, came from Empire countries and the remaining 43 per cent, from foreign countries. The lowest quota of home production is shown by butter, where the figure is 17 per cent.; Empire countries contributed 37 per cent; foreign sources 46 per cent. The next lowest is wheat and flour. Home-produced grain amounted to only 18 per cent, of the consumption, but Empire countries contributed 43 per cent., leaving 39 per cent, of the market to the foreign grower. The other side of the picture shows cheese, where the home-produced was 31 per cent., Empire supply 60 per cent., foreign 9 per cent., and mutton and lamb, for which the corresponding figures were 41 per cent., 33 per cent., and 26. per cent. In the remaining important flesh food, pig products, Britain and the Empire combined fared worse than with any other staple line. The quotas were : Home produced, 34 per cent. ; Empire, 15 per cent. ; foreign, 51 per cent. These figures prove conclusively, in brief compass, how far Britain is from being self-sup-porting, and how far she depends on foreign countries for food. The statistics for the years selected are, it has been suggested, sufficiently typical to indicate the general position. It must not be considered that the market is free of fluctuations or that the proportions _ of home-grown, Empire and foreign supplies are not capable of varying. To take but one instance, similar figures in a pre-war year would certainly have shown a different position for wheat. Russia was then a great exporting country. Wheat is still exported under the Soviet regime, but the quantities are negligible compared with what they used to be. No change of equal importance can be foreseen at present, but it is always possible that old sources of supply may be dried up or new may develop. "With the best will in the world toward the Empire, the British consumer will not refuse to buy foodstuffs fiom foreign countries if the price is substantially les9 or the quality substantially higher than for a corresponding Empire article. If there is any question of seizing or creating an opportunity to increase the share of the Empire in supplying Britain, those two factors, price and quality, must always be put first. The market will not always remain the same in its absorptive capacity. Economic recovery can increase it, as well as growth of population. The Empire might supply more food in those circumstances, without increasing the proportion of trade enjoyed. To do that would not bring

any advance toward the ideal of an Empire self-sufficient' in the great essential of life, food for the people. There are only two means of reaching that end—meeting any growth in demand ahead of foreign rivals and capturing from them trade they now enjoy. It cannot be a speedy process, it will not be an easy one. Given goodwill in the buyer, alertness and efficiency in producer and seller, there is no reason why progress should not be made, so that eventually the goods handled in those markets the Dominions farmers visited will be predominatingly from Empire sources.