Slow Recovery In Dutch East Indies

Chronicle (Levin), 30 January 1948, Page 3

Slow Recovery In Dutch East Indies

(N2-P.A.-

-Reuter.

. Ccwvright)

■ LONDON, Jan. 28. ;■ It is too early yet to assume that any general reconstruction is possible in the Dutch Indies, says the special correspondent of the Financial Times, reviewing conditions in the Netlierlands East Indies. In.lar^e areas pf Java and the greater part oi Suniatra, there is neither personal nor legal security and. companies are reluctant to send their employees to these areas or to start production on any large scale wherever the Dutch have re-oceupied their territories without undue fear of being disturbed marlced recovery has talcen plaee but wherever the threat of Republican interf erence exists there is little sign of progress. Economic conditions in the Indies is also largely affected .by the shortage of rice. Prewar the Indies imported large quantities of rice from India, Siam ahd Indo-Cliina but now these ijnports have ceased and the Indonesians are compelled toi utilise large areas of their tea and other gardens to grow their own rice supplies. In general the Government ' finances are in a bad state and foreign indebtedness has risen to an unprecedented degree. Ho'pes are now. .concentrated on :the possibility of Americ'an- loans but it is estimated that at least 500,000,000 do'llai;s is required for necessary reconstruction work in the wEole archipelago. . Reviewing the position of the major East Indies production items, .the correspondent says about 44 per cent. of Dutch owned rubber estates and factories are now ' restored" in Java and about 45 per cent. in Sumatra. Rubber production in most areas has been reduced by about 34 per cent. and sugar production by 50 per cent. Oil production is only about 30. per cent. prewar but the tin output is expected to show a large increase this year.