POTATO FUTURE

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22521, 1 October 1938, Page 13

POTATO FUTURE

DECLINING CONSUMPTION ACREAGE TOO LARGE The future of potato growing in Canterbury is far from reassuring. A seasonal outlet, such as that which pre-1 sented itself last year in South America, cannot be relied upon, and it would seem that the Australian door to New Zealand potatoes is bolted and barred, and wilj remain so for a long time to come. The export arranged by the Government this year has done little to relieve the congestion, and in any case no private firm could export, even if it bought the potatoes here for next to nothing—at the South American prices ruling. There will be a fair loss a ton, and the season is now getting late for anything further to be done about the handling of the crop. The arranged price of £2 10s to £3 5s a ton looks attractive, but with no business passing at that price it would seem that the surplus will be undiminished to any appreciable extent. If left to ordinary market influences the price would be little more than half the figures quoted. The crop has been too heavy and the outlets too restricted to enable even the Government to solve the problem of the unwanted surplus. In some countries the principle or regulating the acreage of potatoes cropped from year to year has been discussed, and has been operated to a small extent. The potato industry in Canterbury may have seriously to consider some scheme such as this. For the last two seasons the South American market has provided a fortunate let-out, but with that country out we may have to depend solely on the local consumption. It is a popular political theory in some quarters that in case of no outlet market for any kind of produce the position could be rectified

by doubling or trebling our own people's supply. The experience of potatoes makes this theory much less attractive in practice than it looks on paper. There are several factors in the prospects of the future that cannot be overlooked. Thirty years ago, with a population of less than 1,000,000 people, the country grew 31,289 acres of potatoes, which yielded 169,875 tons. These were consumed, and the next year'the production was 143.000 tons. Even then, however, consumption was declining, the amount a head, according to the Year Book, having gone down from 1911b to 1561b in five years. Last year (in 1937), in spite of the increase of population by more than 50 per cent. — to 1,500,000 —the production dropped to 121,000 tons, of which a proportion was exported. Actually, in the 30 years consumption a head, has gone down by 60 per cent. On top of this decline, as far as Canterbury is concerned, the North Island is growing a much greater proportion of its needs each year. The figures, show that we are growing far too many potatoes, and a continuance of the policy will mean that quantities will have to be wasted each year or fed to stock, as is now being done in Canterbury, The fact that an outside market may temporarily present itself to relieve a surplus is only a side issue..