THE FARMERS' OUTLOOK.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1651, 1 September 1887, Page 3

THE FARMERS' OUTLOOK.

It seems to be a generally received opinion m well-informed quarters that the English wheat market will shortly ase, if it has not not already ceased, to be a profitable outlet for the Australasian colonies' surplus wheat production. More particularly so will this be the case with New Zealand where the producers are handicapped with higher freights and a heavier tariff. The two chief factors operating to depress the market are America and India. In the former country low railway rates and lower ocean freights, combined with the labour-saving appliances so largely availed of there, enable the farmers to sell their wheat with a fair profit at three shillings per bushel m Liverpool, while m India cheap land and still cheaper labour, combined with nominal railway charges, enable the exporters to sell m the English market at a still lower rate. Our farmers will doubtless be surprised to learn that the wheat-growers m India realise a handsome return if able to sell at twelve shillings on the farm, or fifteen shillings at the village store, per quarter. With such a large margin for profiit it is not unreasonable to suppose that the exportation of wheat from India will continue to expand m the future m as great a ratio as it has done m the pasi. It is quite true that when Indian wheat was first introduced into the English markets millers would scarcely look at it, and it occupied a very low position on the price list. This was owing to its dirty, earthy condition, but since that time improved cleaning processes have caused it to take raok with the average New Zealand production. If farmers then confine their attention to the English market, we must confess that the outlook is not very encouraging. We notice that the President of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce took occasion at the annual meeting, held m Christchurch the other day, to refer lo the continance of the low price which would probably rule m the English market m the future. He said that as the cultivation of wheat must be one of the most important factors m Canterbury farming operations, the future of the market greatly concerned the growers. If three shillings for 6olb of wheat. was to be the-.permanent price here, farmers would not accumulate wealth very rapidly, but with a 24 bushel crop they could at least hold their own, which was more than could be said of ..their South Australian baethren with 5^ bushels, of the Victorian with 1 1 . bushels, or possibly New South Wales with 17 bushels. He was of opinion that the effect of low averages,, and poor prices on South Australian and Victorian, would be to curtail their areas, under wheat cultivation, and adhered to the opinion he had expressed: when addressing the Chamber a couple of years ago:-— " That it was becoming annually more apparent that Australia would m the future require to lean upon us to a greater extent for the produce of our land, and that I would not be surprised if within another decade she absorbs almost the whole of our bread and feeding stuffs, together with a large proportion of our dairy produce." I still adhere to that opinion, and take occasion' to skate that the total exports from New Zealand to the undernoted adjacent colonies werE : — • ; In 1877. In 1886. To New South Wales £212,640 £822,631 „ Victoria ... ... 584,264 663,896 „ Queensland ... 11,938 92,560 „ Tasmania . . 7,945 63,696 Figures which, considering the reduced values of all kinds ot produce, display a wonderfulexpansion." Before concluding this part of his address the Chairman observed : — " Another outlet for a considerable quantity of our wheat will probably be found m the eastern coast lof South America. Large centres of population, like Rio Janeiro and Buenes Ayres, are now erecting extensive flour mills on the roller principle, and as neither the Brazils nor the Argentine Republic are likely to be large wheat growing countries, our enterprising merchants will doubtless make every effort to secnre a share of the trade." Of the two outlets we incline to the npinion that the latter will prove the more feasible, as we shall not encounter that vigorous competition with cheapgrown Indian wheat which we must be prepared to meet with m the Australian markets.