Cheap Labour Countries

[?]Tion Conference

[?] In New York

How To Hold Up Price Of Sugar From Cheap Labour Countries

I some years, the world’s igar market has been more or iss controlled by international ment, especially within the h Commonwealth; and this, in has given some degree of mess and security to the my of the sugar-producing ries. this position always is under ; of disturbance. There are countries with a large and tig population, with low living ards, which always are :ening to produce more sugar iry low rates, and to flood world markets with cheap This is especially true of and other West Indian Ter s. ain, under the International Agreement made in London 53, buys sugar from certain tonwealth countries—Fiji, for )le —at a fixed price somewhat world parity; and thus main in her sugar-growing countries idard of living that, otherwise, fall. Britain, in return, tries lintain in her sugar-growing ories a market for the goods 'actured by her home indus- This is regarded as the iers’ reward for paying higher world parity for sugar. it is not easy to hold this sition. The British indus al rmsses naturally murmur t an Agreement which makes pay higher than world parity gar. was the situation discussed n May when the represen of 37 nations interested in met at United Nations head rs in New York to examine "ects of the 1953 Agreement, gates did not seem to make progress. The irresistible of public demand for cheap was up against the immovable if sugar-growing governments wished to protect the stan of living within their own ies. ralia’s delegate, Sir Percy ir, declared that, without ’orm of international restric n sugar exports, the world :s would be flooded with with “catastrophic” results, lia had loyally adhered to agar Agreement, and urged he Agreement be expanded, itionally. 3 easy for Australia. She refuses to admit overseas and her 9 I million people 3 a home market which keeps Queensland sugar industry

prosperous, and her sugar workers on a high living standard.

But it is very different with coun tries which have a huge capacity to produce sugar with very cheap labour, and no home market. Cuba, for example, told the conference that she still was trying to co operate, as she had promised to do in London three years ago—but

“on the question of restriction of production, our country has reached the limit”.

Cuba is the world’s largest producer of sugar. If Cuba takes the lid off production, other sugar producing countries must suffer.

A week later, the delegates still were seeking ways and means of inducing sugar-consuming countries to buy more sugar at an inter nationally fixed price.

U Mr. W. H. Percival, of Rarotonga, suffered a badly burned leg in a motor-cycle accident lately, and went into hospital in May for a skin graft.