Europe Faces Bad Winter Food Position

Chronicle (Levin), 25 September 1947, Page 5

Europe Faces Bad Winter Food Position

(If.%j.P.A.-

-Reuter*

Copyright)

Eeceivpd Wednpsday, 1 p.m. LOj^DO^, Sept. 24. Xow that the harvest seagpn ip tlie NTprthern Hemispliere is drpw'PS to fl ;lqse, autlioritacive estimates pf the ■food situation during the epming wh" ".er are beginning to emerge. Thpj present a disquieting picture. It is now estiniated that the Euro: ^ean grain harvest, exclusiye of Russia, wiri be at least 7,000,000 tons less than "■he grain yield in 1946-47 when nearly LS, 0.00,000 tons bad to be imported to maintain Eurqpe's bread ration. It is "herefore . expe'cted that Eurqpe's minimum grain import requirements this year will be 25,OOQ,QOO tons. j Doubts are growing as to whether the bumper harvests in the United §tates ind Australia will be able to redress thp loss caused ]jy the poor harvests in Burope itself and thq decrease in the Janadian crqp. Lasf yeay Europe took 6^ per qent. of surplus grain export tq all parts of the world and F.A.Q., in recent crop estimates, considers that no larger proportion ,will be available for Europe this year. The demands of" deficit areas in other continents sueli as India and Asia, have not diminishedIndeed the Indian harvest has ]ieen seriously aft'ected by rust and t]ie riee harvest ov.er the whole of south-east Asia is considered unsatisfactory. On this basis F.A.O, considers Eirrope will be short of at least 6,000,000 tons oi grain this year and that this may mean a reduction in the calorie intake of at least 10 per cent. A detailed examination of the crop returns for wheat and rye in Western Europe, including Great Britain, reveals tliat there has been a decrease in the grain yield in every eountry' with tht exception of the Anglo-American zone of Germany. France shows a defieiency of over 3,000,000 tons, Britain of nearly .1,000,000 and Seandinavia oi 850,000 tons. These deficiencies amount in all to a decrease of ovpr 5,00.0,000 tons distributed over France, the United Ivingdom, Ireland, Belgium, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Seandinavia. Finland and the French zqne of Ger: many and Switzerland. As a vesult of this it is expeeted the supply of fats and meat from Denuiark, Holland and France will greatly deci'ease. Although Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal did not suft'er so heavily as Western Europe as a result of the apetie winter, a spring drought very seriously affgcted their grain crops. These four countries expect their grain yield to be more than 2,000,000 tons short of last year. Eess serious losses are expeeted in Central and Eastern Europe but here again the anticipated yield from the harvest is below. that of last year when the season in this part of Europe was a very poor oue. Austria and the Soviet zone of Germany both expect higher yields but both CzechoSlovakia and Poland will be short of 600,000 tons of grain. The Soviet zone, fornierly a big exporter, will have only enough for its qwn needs. Tlie only part of Europe oiitside the Soviet, which expeets a substantially larger harvest than last year, is the South-east. ' Bulgaria, Hungary- and Yngoslavia all report. increas'es and al tliqugh Hungary shows a slight de cregse, the total yield in these four countries is expeeted to be nearlyL, 000, 000 tons. Xone of this surplus harvest is expeeted to be available for export as South-Eastern Europe experienced a severe drought the previous year and any additional yield would bj required to increasp the domestic bread ration. According to F.A.O. the. Danube area as a whole will still re quire substantial grain imports this year. Although imports may be obtain able from Russia it is not expeeted that tliere will be anj'. general redistribution pf surplus supplies from east to west.. Western Europe, therefore, with a grain deficit of at lpast 5,000,000 tons cpmpared with the austerity bread ration of 1946-47, will be entirely dependent upon extra sfipplies. fr.om i the United States and Cai'nada. The situation5 will undoubtedly be accentuatecl by the seri'ous eifeet of the summer drought upon tlie potato and t'odder crops in'all parts of Western Europe.