THE WORLD’S WHEAT

Waipa Post, Volume 42, Issue 3305, 4 June 1931, Page 6

THE WORLD’S WHEAT

INTERNATIONAL action NEEDED.

In the face of the American estimate of a wheat surplus for export and carry over of 730,000,000 bushels for the present year, it is impossible to dispute the need for international action in the direction of overcoming the difficulties that at present confront the wheat growing countries of the world. The conference which was opened this week in London under the chairmanship of the High Commissioner for Canada represents an attempt on the part of the principal exporting countries to devise means whereby existing accumulations, may be disposed of with a view to bringing about more satisfactory conditions for the ensuing season. Directly or indirectly, every nation in the world must be adversely affected by the position that has arisen in the wheat markets. The fall of prices to a level below the cost of production and the possibility of a huge surplus were the subject of discussion at a conference in Rome earlier in the year, when arrangements were made for a much smaller gathering, composed only of representatives of countries with an exportable surplus, to consider plans for controlling the export and marketing of grain. The present gathering is the outcome of the larger one, and it may be conjectured that its deliberations will be watched with interest in many parts of the world. That its task is no easy one will be readily apprehended, but it may be assumed that in the .interval between the two conferences a great deal of preparatory work has been done which will assist delegates in formulating plans for the relief of the industry next year. The chairman has suggested that an exhaustive study of the existing methods of distribution and marketing should be one of the first duties of the conference, and it may be expected that this suggestion and the problem of disposing of the present accumulation of stocks will constitute the chief discussions of the sessions. Two tentative schemes which have already received consideration provide for the establishment of an International Wheat Committee to control the selling of wheat outside the country of origin and the regulation of exports by individual countries. Whether it is possible for the conference to arrive at unanimity on these matters is open to doubt, but it is reasonable to expect that the urgency of the situation will compel agreement on some sort of compromise embodying the' basic) principles of each proposal which should prove effective in providing growers with a degree of protection against disastrous gluts of the kind that has occurred this year. When determination has been reached as to the action which shall be taken in the general interest, it will then be the duty of the various parties to the proposals to see that they are loyally supported. Precisely how any scheme that is adopted will operate, and how subscription to it will be enforced, must at present be a matter of conjecture, but there is such a general recognition of the need for some remedial action that this should prove only one of the minor problems of the case.