SUGAR SURPLUS

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 149, 20 March 1939, Page 12

SUGAR SURPLUS

Excessive Australian Production Fears'that excessive production of Australian sugar would soon make it difficult lor growers to dispose of their surplus .were expressed at the annual conference of the Australian Sugar Producers’ Association Ltd. at Brisbane. The annual report said it was estimated that production would be 12,000 to 15,000 tons in excess of production last year. Failing an immediate reduction iu output, the industry would be faced with a difficult situation if it could not export any sugar before September of any year. It would be wiser to reduce production for 1939 and 1940 to an amount which would leave a margin for shipment overseas in July and August within the quota of the International Sugar Agreement. The report added: “The policy of reduced quotas has stabilized sugar values on the world’s market, though as long as supplies are known to be easily available values are unlikely to go higher. As there have been doubts about the amount of sugar which will continue to find a market, a policy of caution and marking time in production has been generally agreed to be necessary. But from a variety of causes —favourable seasons and increased efficiency, as well as a lack of co-ordina-tion between cane land assignments and mill peaks—production has beeu increas. ing most markedly during the past.four or five years, and the resolutions recommending restriction have been practically a dead letter. Though in 1929 slightly more than 600,000 tons was fixed as the basis for economic production in Queensland, production for the past three years has averaged 750,000 tons, which, with the increasing New South Wales production. has raised the Australian total to more than 800.000 tons. “Tho’se engaged in tiie industry have not failed to recognise the serious consequences of over-production, and have repeatedly emphasized the imperative need for restricting output to the requirements of the home and export markets,” said the president of the association, Mr. T. W. Crawford. “T believe that, in appointing a tribunal to settle the vexed Question of mill peaks, the Government has adopted the only way of dealing effectively with this outstanding issue.’’