OTTAWA MEETING

Hokitika Guardian, 27 July 1932, Page 5

OTTAWA MEETING

THE WHEAT TRADE A PRELIMINARY DISCUSSION. L ' . (United Press Association—By Electric Teiegraph—Copyright.) ' < OTTAWA, July 25. The Dominion Cereal Committee held a preliminary discussion ,on the! world wheat position. The subject; chiefly concerns Canada, Australia a-ndi .India, and <M . producers of -leesfer degree, South Africa and Rhodesia. The average annual world crop from* 1909 to lsl3 (omitting yßussia and China) amounted to 3200 millions bushels. The 1930 crop was 3700' millions. The wheat crop has not increased, and only t;'*3 crops in five noU-European countries have done so. They rose 1 ' from 1476 million bushels in 1909 to 1913, to 2100 mVlion bushes in 1930. Comparative crop figures firstly for the period 19091913, /secondly the period 1927-1-30 were:—Canada 197 million bushels and 437 million’, United States 690—863, Argentine 137—256, Australia' 91—155, Russia, period 1909—-1913, 759 millions; 1932 and 1929, 703 millions and 1930 it iumped to 1084 millions. ..The United States during the, war Waa (the world’s greatest wheat i exporter, but /latterly Canada hat been the greatest exporter,' Russia's 19091913 exports averaged 164 million and from 1924 .to 1929 averaged 13 ‘million bushelfb The remarkable fact is the increase in Russia’s wheat equi- ' valent to the total Canadian crop.

“UNFAIR” TRADE PRACTICES,

CONSIDERATION OF COMMITTEE.

OTTAWA, July 25,

No. 1 Committee has . carefully examined th e bearing of unfair trade practices upon the operation of Empire preferential arrangement?.

When considering the sub-commit-tee to survey completely the situation, Mr i Bruce suggested that as the pressure of work whs considerable, especially for ihe delegatipns numercial’y smal l , such as" Australia, the personnel should. be' restricted to Britain and Canada. Eventually Mr Bruce. und n r persuasion, agreed .to serye with Mr Chamberlain and Mr Bennett.

The unfair practices are understood to ,• include foreign import prohibitions, restrictions by quotas and tariffs to stop export’ restrictions ; for example, Chile’s restrictions on the export of nitrate, which action is nullified by ■Germany' using ;: a synthetic substitute. Further unfair practices would include arrangements between . the States, aiming at control of it market; for example, the Danubian .States ; also State control of all foreign trade, examples being Russia and Rersia, the most important p£ all being the Russian position, }

PROPOSALS DISCREDITED,

LONDON, July 25

The "Manchester Guardian,” in an editorial says: 'The general propositions by Dominion Ministers at Ottawa are not encouraging. After depreciating the value of Mr Bennett’s -offer, it says: Mr Bruce even more explicitly seeks to insist on British food taxes a.s the price for more advantageous preferences for British exports. New Zealand is also delightfully frank, suggesting a reduction of rates on British goods, where possible, with increased foreign duties. South Africa makes no bones about the sort of British fried taxes she would like. There is not much in all this to inspire us to hope for miraculous results from the conference!