OCR Text |
Show Facing World Wheat Problem A forty-nation wheat conference confer-ence is underway in London, where an effort will be made to provide international arrangements ar-rangements for the buying and selling of the grain. The purpose pur-pose is to harness surpluses in various parts of the globe to meet famine needs .in other areas. - John Strachey, British Food ..Minister, points out that governments gov-ernments today, whatever their political complexion, are unwilling un-willing to allow their agriculture agricul-ture to contract or expand and be at the mercy of supply and demand in unregulated world markets. In one way or another, anoth-er, he declares, they must stabilize stab-ilize their agriculture. The conference seeks to find an agreement for international wheat prices, export and import quotas in world production and a scheme to build up wheat stocks to break down the vicious seasonal cycle of surplus and shortage. The obstacles are many but, perhaps, in the long run, all producing nations will gain benefits if surplus wheat can be oiderly marketed in areas where there is intense need for foodstuffs. Whether the nations na-tions involved can get together on the details of the general scheme is questionable, but experts ex-perts in international trade have long seen the need of international interna-tional arrangements, not only for wheat, but for the buyinj and selling of world commodities. |