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distinct Committees would be established and that they would meet at the same time in different premises, Mr. J. S. Scott, of the New Zealand Supply Mission, was added to the delegation. The Hon. Clinton Anderson, United States Secretary of Agriculture, was elected Chairman of the Conference, and at the first plenary session, held on Monday, 20 May, the Agenda of the Conference was approved as follows: I. (a) The implications of the factual picture that has been prepared by working groups drawn from the organizations dealing with the food crisis. (&) Means whereby FAO, with the co-operation of other organizations and Governments, can keep the situation under continuous review and report to Governments concerned on changes in harvest prospects in any part of the world, and any other factor affecting the production or distribution of food, so that the necessary action can be taken with the minimum of delay. 11. (a) Measures that can be taken to husband the food available from the 1946 and 1947 harvests and to ensure that it is used to the best advantage. (b) Measures to ensure maximum output from the 1947 harvest in all countries. 111. The desirability of making recommendations to Governments regarding a four- or five-year plan, designed to carry the world through the present crisis and to assist in effecting a smooth transition from emergency measures to a permanent world food policy. Three Committees of the whole Conference were established, and each of the three separate subjects outlined in the Agenda was referred to one of the Committees respectively. At the initial Plenary meetings a number of statements were made, of which two, those made by the Hon. Clinton Anderson and Mr. Herbert Hoover, are attached. I took occasion to call attention to the of omitting any such important primary producing and exporting country as New Zealand from any such discussion. The reports of each Committee are embodied in the general report of the Conference, but the following special comments by the New Zealand delegation are attached:— COMMITTEE I.—WOULD FOOD APPRAISAL (Miss B. A. Foster) With regard to paragraph (a) of the Committee's Agenda, working groups of the FAO and other organizations had prepared for the consideration of the Committee a preliminary appraisal of the world food situation. (A copy of this appraisal is attached (see Appendix I hereto) and a number of very voluminous supporting documents are being forwarded to you by surface mail [noi printed].) In spite of its limitations and shortcomings, this appraisal was considered by the Committee as something new in the field of economic intelligence. It is the first attempt that has been made to assess future trends in the world food situation on so comprehensive a scale. The Committee was in general agreement with the conclusions reached in the appraisal, but it felt that it was not in a position to consider in detail the data presented in the report and in the technical supplements attached. However, it did draw attention to the fact that the forecasts of food-supplies assumed " reasonably favourable " weather conditions until the 1946 harvest, and that the situation might turn out to be Worse than the report indicated. The Committee also noted that the report assesses the order of magnitude of the food deficits in the main importing areas on a regional basis, but it does not estimate the requirements or exportable surpluses of individual countries or make forecasts of effective demand.

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