Evening star., 1940-06-04
Americas Better Able
To Feed Europe Than
During World War
Grain and Meat
Supplies Believed
Ample for All Needs
BY the Associated Press.

.
CHICAGO, June 4.-The Western
Hemisphere, traditionally the worlds
food basket, appeared today to be
capable of sending huge food sup
plies to war-torn Europe.
An inventory OF the Americas
food reservoirs shows that they are
unusually we'll stocked and better
prepared than Is years ago to help
feed Europes war refugees.
Millions of bushels of surplus
wheat. the basic food, are available.
Other grain supplies are sufficient to
meet any unusual foreign demand
and meat supplies also apparently
are plentiful.
Red Cross Prepared.
Whether the relief work would reach
World War proportions was a matter
of conjecture among food merchants
and exporters, who sought answers
to such questions as:
How rapidly will demand for food
from Europe expand, If at all? How
will relief be done, by whom and
under what financial arrangements?
Some clues were seen in the ar
rangement with the Department OF
Agriculture whereby the American
Red Cross can obtain some surplus
foods at about half the market cost
Government steps to make loans on
grain callable on demand for any
emergency, thereby giving it control
over large supplies, also were cited,
along with recent British purchases
of 50,000,000 bushels of Canadian
wheat, enough for three months
normal supply.
Exporters said the extent of alb
normal foreign use of Western
Hemisphere foods would depend
upon the course of the war, its
duration and possibly the victors.
European crop conditions in many
regions are unfavorable, many
farmers are in uniform and vegeta-
ton in battle zones has been
destroyed.
Markets Abroad Disrupted.
The blockade, occupation of ter
rltory, rationing, disruption of mer-
camille traffic and many other
factors have knocked out much of
the European market for grains.
meats and provisions, at least tenn
porarily. Scandinavia and the
loWland countries, normally big
importers, are in the sphere of war,
whereas they were open to traffic
Is years ago. Grain exporters esti-
mated countries now shut off i'm
ported approximately 10000 900
bushels of wheat alone last season.
The United States, which had the
largest portion of the European
market to itself at the beginning of
the last war, now finds itself with
two major food producing and ex-
porting competitors on this side of
the Atlantic-Canada and Argen-
tina. Their rise as exporters was
due largely to expansion required
by conditions Is years ago.
In 1914 the United States and
Russia were the two most important
world exporters of wheat. Canada
had only about 100000 acres in
cultivation, compared with an area
almost triple that size now. Ar
gentina was not an important pro-
ducer.
Canada Large Exporter.
Now Canada has the bulk of the
Western Hemisphere wheat avail
able for export. Already she has
sold large quantities to Great Brit
ain and her mills are grinding flour
as the British seek to build up
stores Of the finished commodity
because of threat of invasion. Out
of crop of almost 500 900 900 BUSH
els last year, one of the largest on
record, Canada still has more than
300, ,000, 900 bushels, better than dou-
bic the supply year ago, with a
new crop already seeded.
Argentina has only about 80 O00,-
900 bushels left from a small crop
early this year, but a new crop
will be ready the first Of r"'-.
The United States supply available
for export and carry 90. -
season beginning next July l has
been estimated at almost 300 900 900
bushels, or mo-o han 100000 900
above safe" reserves.