Others, Besides Planters, Are At War With British Ministry of Food

AS they become more angry over the confidence trick (devaluation of Sterling after the MOF contract was made), by which Britain is getting their copra at about half world-value, South Pacific coconut planters may be interested in what is happening in other countries which are supposed to supply foodstuffs to Britain.

Before the Socialists devalued the Eng lish £, Britain was buying meat from Argentinea, bacon, cheese and fruit from Canada, butter and bacon from Den mark, eggs and meat from Ireland, and copra from the Pacific countries at prices regarded as mutually satisfactory. Then the incredible “Bloomsbury Planners” (in other words, the Attlee Socialist Govern ment) reduced the value of Sterling by

30 per cent., in terms of US dollars, or gold—and still wanted to pay the same number of £’s for those foodstuffs.

Naturally, the various nations named objected. Their products (like South Seas copra) have an international or world value, expressed in terms of gold; and if Britain devalues her £ by 30 per cent, in terms of gold or dollars, then obviously she must pay, in Sterling, 30 per cent, more for the foodstuffs referred to.

But (and this is of interest to our now discontented South Pacific copra-growers) the Socialists have stuck their toes in, and refused to pay any more. That is understandable, of course. They have been caught in the cleft stick of their own silly planning. They devalued the £

to stimulate British exports, to keep t British masses employed—which th accomplished: but, if they pay more 1 their imported foodstuffs (as they mi do, eventually) the cost of living v rise, and they will be worse off. Whi they are bound to be under Social government, anyway.

So, at the moment, the British Mlnist of Food is engaged in furious argume with Argentina, Canada, Ireland, De mark and other nations, and refusing pay higher prices—and the British me ration is down to 6d. worth per week, a: the whole food situation is deterioratinj Last month, it was announced that t British Socialist Government had writt off £36,000,000 of losses incurred in fantastic scheme of trying to produ peanuts in East Africa. Now comes wo that the £BOO,OOO poultry-raising schei in Gambia (West Africa), which was provide Britain with 20 million eggs p annum, from mid-1951, is likely to foll< the peanuts scheme into a resoundi crash.

It looks as if the Pacific copra-growe have very little hope of inducing Lond to revise that iniquitous price of £55 so which is being paid for copra—r while the crazy Socialists remain office, at any rate.

But the copra-growers—if only th could be persuaded to act unitedly should at least demand that the burea crats of the Australian. New Zealand a; Fiji Governments explain why, in ente ing into the MOF copra contracts, th made no provision for a revision of pri in the event of currency depreciation appreciation. That failure —an ordina business precaution—threatens to c( the South Pacific copra-growers millio of pounds.