IRON ORE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 April 1940, Page 5

IRON ORE

I HEAVY CUT IN GERMAN SUPPLIES DEPENDENCE ON SWEDEN. EFFECT OF ALLIED BLOCKADE ACTION. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, April 8. The action of the Navy today, • which will interfere with supplies reaching Germany from northern ports, lends special interest to figures relating to Germany’s imports of iron ore, published today. Nearly 22,000,000 tons of this important raw material, having about 50 per cent, of iron content, was imported into the Old Reich in 1938, and of this total 9,750,000 tons came from countries to which Germany ceased to have access immediately the war broke out. Of the remaining 12.000,000 tons, nearly 9,000,000 tons, with iron content of over 5,000,000 tons, came from Sweden, the remainder being divided among Luxemburg, Norway, Greece and Switzerland.

In 1938 the Swedish iron ore exports totalled 12,600,000 _ tons, and therefore her exports to Germany consisted of approximately three-quarters of her total export of iron ore. This mineral was mainly transmitted through three ports—Narvik alone taking 7,600,000 tons. Since the 1938 figure were published Czechoslovakia and Poland have been annexed by the Nazis, and therefore the Swedish iron ore exports to these countries must be taken into consideration in assessing the degree of German dependence upon this source of supply. In 1938 Czechoslovakia took 798,000 tons and Poland 126,000 tons, mainly exported through Narvik. Being cut off since the beginning oi the war from nearly half its requirements, the Reich now depends increasingly on Swedish supplies, and the removal of Narvik by forcing all supplies available to come through the insufficiently-equipped E/.ltic ports represents a further substantial net loss to Germany of a commodity in which she is already seriously deficient.