ENGLAND'S WHEAT SUPPLY

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1717, 25 January 1905, Page 63

ENGLAND'S WHEAT SUPPLY

(To the Editor "N.Z. Mail.”)

Sir, —Will you kindly insert the enclosed in your valuable paper, which you will see is from the London “ Weekly Timee” Supplement of November 11th, for Mr Kinsella’e and other readers information, as he states in your paper that Canada supplies England with threequarters or nearly so of her wheat. Instead of this he will see Canada is last on the list, and least in quantity, but for this We are very thankful to them. I am, etc., THE VISITOR. January 11th.

The following is the extract referred to:

The marked decline, to which we have on several recent occasions directed attention, in our imports of wheat and flour from the United States is stfil in progress. Last month, for example, we received from that source only 481,200 cwt of wheat, as compared with 1,406,700cvyt in October, 1903, and with 4,430,875 cwt in October, 1002. Of wheat flour we received only 397,800 cwt last month,. as compared with 1,608,600 cwt in October, 19ti3, and with 1,551,662 cwt in the preceding October. Our total imports oi hour form the United States in the first ten months of 1804 have been no more than 7.40 i, 202 cwt, which compares with 12,795,484 c wt and 12,540,128 cwt respectively in the first ten months of 1803 and of 1802. Bringing down to date a table we printed some weeks ago, we get brought into view the extraordinary changes indicated by cbe figures below in our sources of wheat supply. Comparing 1904 with 1802 it is seen that the British East Indies have nearly trebled their contributions, Argentina and Russia have quadrupled theirs, and Australasia has more than doubled its supplies. On the other hand, the United States have sent us not mueJi mere than one-sixth of the quantity they supplied a couple of years ago, and Canada also shows some failing off. Concerning Canada it is of interest to note that last month we rece.ved from the .Dominion no more than 72,200 cwt of wheat, as compared with 75S,800cwt in October, 1903, and with 1,237,287 cwt in October, 1802. Putting the United States and Canada together, it appears that whilst in 1802 we received from them upwards of 45 million hundredweight of wheat in the first ten months, this year the quantity is only 12 million hundredweight, or not much more than onefourth. The extinction of the Australasian wheat trade in 1803 was due to drought. The aggregates at the foot of the table include supplies from countries in addition to those specifically named. Up to the present we are seen to have imported 12 million hundredweight more wheat than in the same period of 1802: IMPORTS OR WHEAT INTO THE UNITED KINGDOM. 10 MONTHS, JANUARY TO OCTOBER: 1004 1803 . 1902 Cwt. Cwt. Cwt. British East Indies ... 20,469,100 12,830,242 7,340,924 Argentina 18,466,700 13,558,855 4,18-5,830 Russia ... 16,527,i00 13,036,202 4,118,684 Australasia - 9,268.-400 30 4,313,541 U.S.A. ... 6,541,100 20,405,726 37,292,375 Canada ... 5,586,900 8,893,241 8,085,682 Total from all sources 80,143,300 72,483,734 63,265,954