UNECONOMIC PRICE OF SUGAR

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 67, 6 April 1937, Page 5

UNECONOMIC PRICE OF SUGAR

Telegraph— Presa Abbii.— Copyright.)

Better Returns Needed By Growers LONDON CONFERENCE

(By

(Eeceived 6, 12.30 p.m.) LONDON, April 5. Presiding over probably his last international conference as a British Minister, Mr. Bamsay Macdonald opened the sugar conference in the Locarno Room of the Foreign Office, in the limited space of which 200 delegates assembled.

OmciaUy the conference xs a con--tinuation of the world monetary economic conference, but to-day 's unspeetacular proceedings were werely a shadow of the grandeur associated with previous gatherings, which terminated in a fiasco. Representatives of 22 countries attended. Italy has not accepted the invitation. The objeet of the conference is to consider the possibility of international agreement to regulate the production and marketing of sugar. In many countries sugar production is heavily subsidised a)s a matter of domestic policy. The general increase of production in the years since the war has been accompanied by a fall in priees which has greatly disturbed the

economy of mdustry. Britam is concerned in the international discussions both because of her Home production of sugar and because of the large production of cane sugar in the colonies. The morning 's speeches were formally read, after which the conference adjourned to appoint committees and

commence the real work. ±t is expected that future meetings will be private. Mr. Macdonald, in his inaugural speech, drew attention to the improvement in the statistical position but pointed out that the world price was remunerative to only the eheapest producers. The fundamental object of the conference should assure stability. The United Kingdom, which was a large consumer, did not favour an increase in price above the just economic level, Mr. Macdonald said that a general agreement such as had been arrived at in the case of the tin and rubber would be impossible. The conference must draw up rules applicable to each group of countries. Mr. Casey (Australia) emphasised that the world price for sugar for an extended period had remained uneconomic. It had been disastrously low. Despite small preferences from the, United Kingdom and Canada the loss on Australian exports was partieularly heavy because Australia was the only country in the world producing cane sugar entirely by white labour, necessitating high wage ratets. Australia, therefore, would support any fair and equitable plan to raise world prices to a reasonable level.

Mr. Casey urged the necessity of increasing consumption in low-consump-tion countries, which, if attained even to a limited extent, would solve the problem of over-production and produce a shortage of (supplies. He pointed out that, while New Zealand consumed 119 *lbs. a head, Australia 112 and Britain 107, Germany consumed only 52 lfcs. a head, Czechoslovakia 55. Hungary 23 and Poland 22.