Evening star., 1946-05-22
Food Experts Contrast
Chinese Famine With
Surplus in Brazil
BY the Associoted Press

to spare IN Brazil, starvation in
China and belt-tightening in
South Africa was drawn for an
international food conference
today as delegates went through
a final round of speeches.
Speaking for China, Thomas S. T.
Yang declared that 30,oO0,00 per-
sons are threatened with starvation
and that the Combined Food Boards
ALLEGATIONS are totally inadequate.
"We cannot expect to save lives by
feeding them with paper ALLEGATION"
Mr.. Yang said, nor can they be
saved by the blueprints of an ediflce
to be erected in some distant future. :"
Creation of an international food
. organization to handle long-range
! shortage threats is a major aim of
the conference.
Brazil Offers Encouragement.
AL S1lSOI4 oS1l1S llOtC Ill lllC lllilllC-
diate crisis was sounded by Brazil's
spokesman, Edmunco de Maceda
Soares Silva. Brazil, he said, will
be able to export rice far above the
expected quota. In addition, he
went on, she has Sizable tonnage
of beans for export. the largest sur
plus of maize in history and can put
cocoa and coffee and some other
products on the export list.
Transportation is the key, he said,
to continuing heavy shipments in
: the next two or three years
Mr.. Maceda Soares said Brazil
must move food long distances to
ports for shipping and needs roll
ing equipment.
South Africa Rations Bread.
DR.. P. R. Viljoen, chief South
African delegate, said his country
had hoped to help feed Europe's
famished millions but is now in
difficulty itself chiefly because of a
severe drought.
Bread rationing, avoided during
the war, he said, now is in effect
in larger cities.
Meanwhile, with available cereal
supplies still running far short of this
country's promises to famine areas,
the Government is expected to ex-
tend its 30-cent-a-bushel wheat
bonus beyond the May Is expiration
date.
Top Agriculture Department Of
ficials refuse to comment on this
possibility, but they conceded that
the bonus offer has not brought in
the amount of wheat urgently
needed to meet export schedules for
the remainder of May and June.
+ Movements Are Delayed.
The Government had hoped to
obtain at least 100,OO0,0O0 bushels of
wheat from=farmers by means of the
bonus. offered in addition to the
ceiling price on grain.
However, on the basis of wheat
sales up to May IT. it appeared that
not mora than 70,0OO000 bushels
would be obtained by the date set
for withdrawal of the bonus. Sales
to the May II date totaled 43,397 900
bushels.
Officials said the movement of
wheat from farms to market had
been delayed in some areas by lack
of elevator space Some local grain
elevators are unable to buy wheat
for the Government because they
have no place to put it. These ele-
vators were said to be located princi-
pally on branch railroad lines and
unable thus far to get railroad cars
for shipment of grain already on
hand.
Thus extension of the bonus would
give farmers affected by the car
shortage additional time to take ad-
vantage of the offer
Some officials fear withdrawal of
the bonus before harvest of the
Z new wheat crop might result in a
virtual halt in movement of wheat
off farms. They believe farmers
would be inclined to hold remaining
grain supplies in hope of better
prices later.
But some grain must be obtained
from farms in June-the month
before the new crop of winter wheat
starts moving to market in volume
If a closedoWn of domestic -four
mills is to be avoided. Many mills
are expected to run out of grain
before the end of Nav