CANADIAN GRAIN
Sale To China (NX. Press Assn.—Copyright) OTTAWA, April 27. The Canadian Minister of Agriculture (Mr Alvin Hamilton > left for Hong Kong yesterday to discuss another grain sale to China, according to Canadian Press. His departure, said the agency, prompted speculation that the sale might be much larger than the 60m dollar order signed in February. Negotiations had been going on in Hong Kong for several weeks with the chairman of the Canadian Wheat Board (Mr W. C. McNamara).
Mr Hamilton’s trip was evidence that negotiations were at the point where ministerial decision was required. The sale of 28m bushels of wheat and 12m bushels of barley, valued at 60m dollars by Mr Hamilton, followed Chinese purchases in Australia to help ease serious crop reverses in China. The February sale was a cash deal, with supplies moving out of West Coast ports at a volume—combined with shipments to Japan and the Soviet Union—expected to keep terminals busy until August. The Canadian Press quoted officials in Ottawa as saying that they had been generally in the dark about the state of negotiations in Hong Kong but indicated that amounts of grain at least equal to the February deal and perhaps substantially more had been discussed. It was understood that Mr Hamilton’s trip could be required to sanction credit provisions for China, spread over two or three years. The minister also took a hand in a credit sale of 11.9 m bushels to Czechoslovakia earlier this year. So far this year, the Soviet Union has purchased 7.4 m bushels. According to Reuter, Britain remained Canada's largest and steadiest customer, taking about 100 m bushels a year in wheat and flour equivalent. Japan had developed into the second-best client with purchases in excess of 40m bushels. The Prime Minister (Mr Diefenbaker) declined to say anything except that Mr Hamilton was on his way. He refused to be drawn on a report that more th A 80m bushels of grain were involved in the talks with Peking officials.
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Press, Volume C, Issue 29500, 29 April 1961, Page 14
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335CANADIAN GRAIN Press, Volume C, Issue 29500, 29 April 1961, Page 14
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