AUSTRALIAN WHEAT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24227, 20 February 1940, Page 16

AUSTRALIAN WHEAT

SALES TO NEW ZEALAND BIG EXPORTABLE SURPLUS (From Our Own Correspondent) SYDNEY, Feb. 7. The depressed atmosphere of Sydney wheat trading in recent weeks was relieved yesterday, when tire sale was made of 91,467 bushels of bagged grain to New Zealand. The Australian Wheat Board revealed that the sale was the fourth to the Dominion since December. Including the sale yesterday. the four cargoes sold comprised 272.533 bushels. But even that is only a drop in the ocean of Australia’s wheat surplus. The Minister of Commerce. Senator McLeay, said recently that it now appeared that the wheat harvest would yield about 185,000,000 bushels—--10,000,000 bushels more than the original estimate. Tire Australian Wheat Board believed that, after home consumption requirements had been met. there would be a carry-over at the end of the year of about 30,000,000 bushels. That carry-over is considerably less than was originally expected. The greatest influencing factor in the disposal of the wheat has been the sale to Great Britain of 56,000,000 bushels. Another big sale was 7,500,000 bushels to Japan. Sales for flour export total 30,000,000 bushels. It is estimated that the season’s wheat crop will be worth £27,000,000 to growers, but the total value and the price per bushel will not be determined until the Australian Wheat Board’s pool has been “ cleared up.” An estimate of 3s a bushel net to growers is considered by Sydney exnerls to be conservative. Senator McLeay reckoned the return will be 3s 4d. Desnite the last few weeks’ depression in the Sydney market, the world wheat position has improved beyond exnectations of the Federal Ministers. Indications are that the Commonwealth Government will be relieved of the tremendous burden of financing wheatgrowers and the necessity for restricted production in 1940-41 has disappeared, in the opinion of wheat exnerts. The final estimate of the wheat harvest iu New South Wales is 76,000,000 bushels, the second largest on record and only about 3,000.000 bushels less than the record of 1932-33, which followed the ill-conceived “grow more wheat ” campaign of the Scullin Labour Government. This season’s harvest is much larger than was forecast three months ago. and is 16,000,000 bushels more than last vear’s crop. The average yield for the State in 1939-40 is 163 bushels an acre, approximately a bushel an acre less than the record average bushels obtained in 1920-21, but three bushels an acre greater than last year.