BRITAIN’S FOOD STOCKS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25801, 23 March 1945, Page 6

BRITAIN’S FOOD STOCKS

LESS THAN 6,000,000 TONS

AMERICAN FIGURES WRONG RUGBY, Mar. 21.

Mr Churchill was asked in the House of Commons whether there was any security reason why the figures of food stocks held in Britian under the Ministry of Food should not be made Public. , .. T The Prime Minister replied: In the earlier years of the war there was very good reason, on security grounds, against disclosing our food stocx figures. In view of the present military position that objection no longer holds. I read in the newspapers that our food stocks in Britain amount to 700,000,000 tons. Actually they are now rather less than 6.000.000 tons, and are in the process of being reduced, by aid to the liberated countries, to about 4,750,000 tons by the end of June. This latter figure is no more than necessary to maintain the regular flow of distribution in the present conditions. Mr Churchill said the different parts of Europe might be faced with varying degrees of famine —in some cases total famine —this coming winter, and tha. was the reason for accelerating military operations with the utmost intensity possible.