AMERICA’S FOOD SUPPLY

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8352, 12 February 1913, Page 2

AMERICA’S FOOD SUPPLY

Tho prediction made some time ago by a prominent American shipowner and railway director that, owing to the increase of population, the United States, instead of being an exporting country, would have to retain her products to feed her own people, is in tho Way of being verified by the facts. Statistics bearing on the steady diminution in tho surplus food products which tho United States has in hand after supplying tho rapidly increasing demands of its jxqmlation aro given in a circular issuer! by tho National City Bank of Now York. It is shown that tho value of foodstuffs exported in tho fiscal year 1911-12 was £83,800,000, whereas in 1900 it was £109,000,000. In 1900, 102,000,000 bushels of wheat were exported, tho figures for 1911-12 being only 30,000,000 bushels; flour declined from 18,600,000 to 11,000,000 barrels; maize, from 209,000,000 to 40,000,000 bushels; canned beef from 55,500,0001 b to 11,000,0001 b ; and bacon, from 512,000,0001 bto 209,000,0001 b. Tho share which foodstuffs formed ot the total exports of the United States in 1911-12 represented 19.5 per cent., tho proportion in 1900 having been 39.8 per cent., in 1390 42.3 per cent.* and m 1880 53.8 per cent.