RECORD WHEAT SALE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11805, 16 September 1916, Page 6

RECORD WHEAT SALE.

"POOL - ' -RECEIVES £'2,500,000. PAYMENTS TO FARMERS. A series of important sa'les of Au«tinlian wheat to the Allies' FoOd Commission, representing a. value to the pool'' of" about .£*2,500.000, was announced by the Minister ior Agriculture in Victoria (Mr Hagelthorne) recently. Mr Hngelthorn made the following statement:— "At a meeting of the Australian Wheat Board it was announced that further salon of wheat made have amounted to something like 260.000 tons. lho.se .sales include shipments which are to bo mnde after June, and cm ices the total wiles of Australian wheat, including loc»1 sale-, about I.otAM/00 tons. The.;? sales amount to something more than one-third of the entire Australian crop now in the 1 pool.' Too last sale, which is the largest mode in tiio history of Australian wheat, transactions, will net slightly over os a bushel f.o.b. (all ohaiges paid), and we have estimated the t-oiai return on a basis of £lO a ton, which will mean the receipt by tho "'pool' of approximately £2,500,000 The total sales, both oversea and in Australia, made since the ' pool' began operations, might be fairly estimated at os a bushel f.o.b.—that is one-third of the entire Australian crop ha? disposed of at this price. Assuming that wo got only 4s a bushel for the remaining two-thirds of the crop, if; will give the ' pool ' a net return of Is Oil free of ail charges, and the ' pool,' after having administietivo expenses, shonld bn able to distribute crsiong fnrmvrs an addi*?cz<«l total payment of from Is id to It? Od a bushel on certificates lor wheat delivered.

"Freight i? Available to carry n?l the wheat, which has boeti disposed of hi the Ir.Sv important male, (hut „« asFuming tho reuniremonts o.f the Jir.vy nro not sw-h Uiut r<\-sels will have to f>; commandeered. However we have not yet roeehed >i stage in the freight Arrangements which will permit of the • poo!' announcing ,vn immediate fur - ther advance of (3d a buslie! to farmers. That question will be. determined by the succe&s oi Mr Hughes in London in arranging for additional skipping. We expect an announcement from him at. an early date, and the intimation tsbat the additions! 6d advance is, to be made might be published at any time."