SUPPLIES OF SUGAR.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17013, 11 April 1923, Page 8

SUPPLIES OF SUGAR.

GOVERNMENT IMPORTS FROM JAVA. About the middle of January it became apparent to the Government, said Mr B. Jj. Dallard, advisory accountant tc the Board of Trade, this morning, that the supply of .Fijian sugar refined into colonial A 1 grade at Auckland would not be sufficient to last througn the jam-making season. There had been an abundance of fruit, and consequently an abnormal demand had been made upon supplies. So far 5000 tons more sugar than last year had been sold. As the next season’s Fijian sugar was not available until the middle August, it had become necessary for the Government to take some steps in the direction of securing a supply fo** the period betwen now and the arrival of the next Fijian crop. It was found that quantities of Javan sugar could be secured at advantageous prices, and it was decided that these should be obtained.

This action, Mr Dallard said, had been looked at askance by many people because their experience with Javan “ mill whites ” has been anything but satisfactory. However, the general impression of the Government’s sugar deal was a wrong one. Tt had lieen found in the past that “ mill whites ” were by no means suitable for all purposes, and statements made by manufacturers confirmed this view. One firm had written that the jam made from Javan sugar was very poor jh quality when compared with that made from the Fijian sugar refined at Chelsea. It lacked clearness and jelly-like consistency, and was in many cases unfit for use after three months. A number of grocers had also written concerning it, and one said that he had stocked it once, but had no desire to repeat the experiment. Another got a note from a customer saying, “ Send sugar—not. Javan.”

The Government, realising the unsuitability of “ mill-whites,” and at the same time appreciating the necessity for a sugar supply, had decided, Mr Dallard said, on a plan which gives the public sugar of quality equal to that of Colonial A 1 grade. The Javan raw sugar would be imported and refined at Chelsea on exactly the same lines a-s Fijian raw, and its quality would bo the same. “ There seems to be an idea that the Government has broken faith in some way in continuing the. sugar control after June, the specified time.” said Mr Dallard, “hut that is really far from true-” He went on to say that, owing to the abnormal demands for sugar—the greatest in the history of the Dominion—it wa-s seen that, the sugar oonracted for could not last till June. Inquiries made, at Fiji showed that the crops there would be later than usual, and consequently arrangements had to he made for a new supply from another place. Tlie Government had been in control of the sugar supplies for six years, Mr Dallard said, and it naturally desired to see that a normal state existed when it left the market. It had always kept well in touch with world prices, and was- able to effect an advantageous purchase prior to the recent rise in Javan sugar, a.nd was enabled to place refined sugar on the market, at an increased price of only id a lb, although Id would have been justifiable on present quotations. There was no foundation for the fear that a, further rise in the price of sugar would take place, as the world price was always affected by the Cuban crop, which would not come in till July. The world crops showed an increase of half a million tons more than last year, although there was a slight decrease in Java. The. Javan sugar, however, is sold through a trust and placed on the market at a firm price. “ The Javan sugar will serve well in the meantime,” he said. “ and there need be no fears of a sugar shortage.”