Long Wait

EXTERNAL AFFAIRS Long Wait

Hungry Britain, waiting for the 160,000,000 bushels of wheat Canada had promised her this crop year, got some grim statistics. By last week, the official end of the Great Lakes navigation season, Canada had exported only 75,000,000 bu. --its poorest showing since 1942. Britain had got only about 52,000.000 bu. of that; the rest went to markets like the West Indies, Africa, India. Reasons for late and small delivery: i) Canada's small wheat carryover; 2) a shortage of railway cars, use of wheat ships for coal after last spring's U.S. coal strike; 3) the Great Lakes shipping strike (TIME, June 10).

Canada might still haul enough wheat by rail to Halifax to meet its promise to Britain. But the race would be close. Britain, which would like an extra 40,000,000 bushels of wheat, is unlikely to get any of it. Canada does not have it to spare, despite a near bumper crop of 418,000,000 bushels.

After Canada took out domestic and British needs, only 68.000,000 bushels were left for Canada's 34 customer nations. Their share would not only be late but far less than they had hoped to get.

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