EUROPEAN HARVEST PROSPECTS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1950, 21 September 1888, Page 3

EUROPEAN HARVEST PROSPECTS.

The Lendon correspondent of the " LytteUon Times," writing under date August 11th, says;— The unpromising outlook of the harvest In Europe seems likely to afford an opportunity for a spurt In the grain ezportations from New Zealand and Australia. la London, after liavlog had daily rains from Jane 4h to August 4th, with the ezoeptlon of fourteen days, the weather seems to hay« cleared PP» and summer, after having bean postponed - to the autumn, is at length In a fa£ way of being with us. From other ptrts oi the country we bear that the fine weather hai oommenced, and It Is possible, if we hay? a month's brilliant annshlne, that the English harvest may be a fair one. but a gtfQd one Ik oan hardly be In Franoe, however, where, for fifty days previous to August Ist, they had continuous rain throughout the country, the orops are almost ruined. The French harvest is gathered m July, ■o that it is now too late for a burst of sunshine to do good. In England the price oi wheat has risen upwards of 3s per quarter m anticipation of the demands of France, for it is the opinion of some authorities that that country will need to Import not less than 10,000,000 quarters of wheat within the next twelve months, to make good the deficiency of the harvest this year. Nor are other countries m Europe much better situated, In some parts of Spain the wheat crop hat been Almost destroyed by loouets. la Germany the rye orop has Buffered very considerably •rid grave apprehensions are entertained as to the wheat. In Belgium the harvest -Is suffering from the wet. From Russia we bare similar accounts, and the wheat crop la the East of Europe is said to be below the average. A writer m one of the French trade journals estimates the quantity of grain which the seven principal eonntrles of Europe will require to Import daring the ooming year at 34,600,000 quarters, distributed as felons : -France, 7,000,000; Great Britain, 11 ,000.000 ; Belgium, 2,400,000; Holland, 1,700,009 ; Germany, 2,000,000 ; Switzerland. 1,700,000; & Italy, 2,700,000. The probable surplus of the seven great grain exporting oountrlei of the world Is estimated at 30,500,000 quarters, dis trlbuted ss follows :— -Hungary, 1,000,000, Roumanla and Turkey, 2,700,000 ; Rus*U, 10,300,000; United States, 10,300,000; <Mf, 1,400,000 ; Australasia, 1,400,000 ; *o4 felt Indie*, 4.10P.000, thai leaving *4cfieioncj of about 4,060 000 quarters Ao be made up. It ir, therefore, apparent that thsre ought to be a good demand for Australian and New Zealftng wheat during 4hs peyt ***!?? moptfci,