4 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 
average annual amounts for the period 1904-138 in 
bushels being given in each case :-— 
Bushels. 
Imports 14,719 
Production 7,327,353 
7,342,072 (a) 
Exports... vee was sus 637,919 
Seed wheat dee eas ala 480,142 
1,118,011 (b) 
Total Consumption :— 
Difference between (a) and (b v6 224,061 
Population ass fas ae 968,886 
Per capita consumption oe tne 64 
The calculation should prove a sufficiently close 
approximation to be reliable; for the period over which 
it was made is of such a length as to eliminate yearly 
disturbances, and, moreover, as shown by statistics of 
price and production, the period is a normal one. The 
exports at the beginning and end are not strictly rele- 
vant to the calculation, for it is not certain how far 
exports in 1904 were confined to the crop of that year, 
whereas the exports of 1914 may contain some of the 
erop of 1913. But these errors act in opposite direc- 
tions, and as such, being unbiassed errors, their relative 
importance is not great. 
From this calculation it appears that the amount 
required for home consumption is considerably more 
than six million bushels, and a glance at the statistics 
of production for recent years will show that this 
amount has not been reached at several harvests. Thus 
in 1902 only four million bushels were produced, while 
in 1907 and 1908, and again in 1918 and 1914, the 
amount fell short of what, according to my estimate, 
was required for consumption by about 500,000 
bushels. Importation to this amount was not resorted 
to because of the relatively large supplies of previous 
years in each case, a certain amount of which 
apparently was held over. Nevertheless, it is obvious 
that on the occurrence of a number of “‘lean”’ years 
in succession such importation would be necessary. 
