FIVE MILLION TONS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26078, 15 February 1946, Page 5

FIVE MILLION TONS

ALARM SOUNDED (Rec. 7 p.m.) LONDON, Feb. 13. Mr Ernest Bevin was the first speaker in the General Assembly debate on the food shortage when the Big Five’s resolution urging the nations of the world to grow all the food possible to avoid famine came up for approval. Mr Bevin referred to Mr Fraser’s recent statement that the food position was now worse than originally. Mr. Bevin said: “In November, 1945, when the food and agricultural organisation held its first meeting in Quebec, papers were presented showing that there was likely to be a world shortage of cereals. This was followed by a further examination at Washington, and the latest figures rather show a worse position than was anticipated. I do not exaggerate when I say the food position is really alarming.” Mr Bevin added that in the first six months of 1946 importing countries will need to import from overseas more than 17,000,000 tons of wheat and flour, and the supply which can be expected from all countries against this requirement will be about 12,000,000 tons, leaving a deficit of 5,000,000 tons. Mr Bevin at this point said he wanted to make it clear that he was only referring to supplies which could be moved across the seas. These did not include supplies which neighbouring countries might obtain overland. There would be a good deal of exchange overland between one country and another, but when that was done there would still be a terrific deficit in the total supplies. Mr Bevin added that in the 17,000,000 tons mentioned U.N.R.R.A.’s requirements were included for the countries supplied by U.N.R.R.A. Therefore, the 12,000,000 tons to be supplied included the whole amount which exporting countries in both hemispheres expected to “be able to ship. “We shall have later and more precise figures soon, but the fact remains that the whole Continent of Indiahas come into the picture—-the monsoon has failed.”