The Dominion. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1916. BRITAIN'S DAILY BREAD

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2919, 3 November 1916, Page 6

The Dominion. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1916. BRITAIN'S DAILY BREAD

The statement of the Manchester Guardian, published in yesterday's Dominion, that the Imperial Government is considering the question of permitting the making of bread from a mixture, of wheat and maize may occasion nervous people some anxiety. They may conclude that Britain, as the result of the "submarine blockade," as Germany is pleased to stylo it, cannot secure the wheat she needs for her people; but there are reasons quite beyond the control of Germany which account for the situation. 1 The shortage of shipping' is a factor, of course, just now affecting the trade and commerce of the whole world, but the main influences at work are the shortage of the world's wheat supply and the call for economy. Everyone knows that in peaoe time the British Isles do not produce sufficient wheat to meet domestic requirements, and it has always been necessary for Groat Britain to import large quantities of wheat and flour.,, Ordinarily, the sources of supply were Russia, the 'Balkan btates, _the United States, Ganada, Argentine, India, and Australia. Most of the other European countries have also <been large importers breadstuffs, the local production not; being equal to meeting the demands. The war has altered tho whole aspect of affaire. . In iiUrope, the Russian and Balkan supplies have been shut owing to if the Dardanelles, and what this means to the European markets and especially to Great Britain may be judged from the fact that in August last, that is at tho close or the last.cereal year, Russia had -11,000,000 tons of wheat awaiting export via Black Sea ports. 1® total has been swollen roaterial- , by this. harvest. Then we have the Rumanian output. As a matter of fact, tho British Government has contracted to purchaso very_ considerable quantities of Rumanian wheat, but the difficulty is in getting the grain out of the country. Shut of£_ from supplies from Europe, Britain and her Allies have had to rely mainly on Canada and the United States, where, unfortunately, the 1916 crops have been deficient, The 1915 crop in Canada represented 376,000,000 bushels, while this year's crop is variously estimated at between 160,000,000 and under 200,000,000 bushels. On tho average, Canada retains .about 92,000,000 bushels and if the year's yield should be in proximity to the lowest computaSion, the exportable surplus is . only 68,000,000 bushels, against 290,000,000 bushels actually shipped out of last season's crop. The estimates of the United States crop vary, but there is a general agreement that it is much below the average, while some authorities go so far as to say that it is below domestic requirements, in other words not only will the United States have no wheat_ to export, but may possibly be obliged to. import grain to make good the deficiency. It was stated in a cable message recently that wheat in America would soon reach two dollars per bushel aiid possibly three dollars, unless there be Government intervention. The situation in tho United States and Canada makes it obvious that Britain cannot hope to obtain very much wheat from those countries in the immediate future, and must therefore look further afield for supplies. The British Government recently made'large purchases of Austalian wheat. Supplies can also be obtained from India and the Argentine, and were the conditions normal there would be no need to mix cornflour with wheat flour to make bread. _ To transport wheat from , Argentine and India requires more shipping tonnage to transport a given quantity in a given time than in tho case of wheat grown in Canada or tho United States. It would T)o easier, quicker, and cheaper ,to import a million tons of wheat from Canada than from the Argentine, and fewer vessels would bo needed to transport the grain. The shipping difficulties are emphasised when Australia is taken into account, Besides the scarcity of tonnage there are other difficulties to contend with. Thero is delay at the docks in London and Liverpool, inland transport is difficult because the railways must pivo preference to military requirements, and tho labour problem is each week becoming more pronounced. It is the combination of theso adverse conditions that is likely to bring about tho dilution of wheat flour with cornflour.