DEAR SUGAR FOR AUSTRALIA

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17901, 5 April 1920, Page 5

DEAR SUGAR FOR AUSTRALIA

(From Ode Own Corbesfondent.) SYDNEY, March 26. It is reported here that New Zealand, as a result ot some shrewd or lucky agreement mado a long time ago, has* sugar at 3d per pound. Lucky Now Zealand! Australia up till now ha.? had sugar, in somewhat short supply, at 3id; but now the end has come, and it is going to be 6d or 7d in future. This is a.result of a combination of ill-luck • And Government bungling. This country consumes about 200,000 tons of sugar a year, and has been known in a good season to produce 300,C00 tons. But. j in rccecnt years the industry has been I shockingly neglected. The llederal Government took chcargo of sugar production and marketing as a war measure, and fought bitterly with the Queensland Government about it, the Queonsland Government regarding this control as an invasion of its sovereign rights. Between them they tore the industry to pieoes. The Queensland Government heavy wages hardens upon it. The Federal Government, anxious to keep the people quiet, fed them with cheap sugar, and refused to give the grower t!>o p'rico ha wanted. And so, as was to be expected, the production of sugar _ cane dwindled rapidly. The Government simply made lup the deficiency—amounting last season to 100,000 tons—by purchases abroad. And then the sugar market went mad, and the Government, driven to-day to foreign markets by the shortage of home production, has to nay anything up to £00 per ton for raw sugar, for which it is allowing the Australian grower £21. Hence some rapid changes in the sugar situation. Since the Government must pay the world's parity for sugar, the people must now pav at least 6d per pound for it. The Government, too late, is awakening to the need of encouraging local production. It has raised the price for raw eugar from £'21 to £30 6s 8d per ton; but it is too late' to stimulato the 1920 crop, on which a shortage of anything up to 100,000 tons is estimated. Had the Government only had the foresight to guard and encourage local production of sugar, Australian manufacturers who use sugar would to-day have had a unique advantage over all the manufacturers of the wonM. The muddling Government nominally controls the distribution of the available sugar supplies. Actually, it hn« left them in hands wh.tire most, scandnlous things aTO permitted. Generally speaking, the wealthy classes can get as much sugar as they want, while the poorer classes arc practically on rations.