THE CONSUMPTION OF WHEAT 5 
3. The Markets of the World. 
The marketing of a commodity so universally con- 
sumed as wheat is certain to vary greatly in different 
countries. The market for wheat in some countries 
displays all the features of the most highly specialised 
market created by the mechanism of exchange under 
modern economic conditions, while in others it is 
wholly unorganised and little in advance of medieval 
conditions. Sale by grade, future dealings, the rise of 
speculative dealers, the modern corn exchange, these 
are the characteristics of a market such as that of 
Chicago. But the organisation of marketing does not 
concern us here so much as the geographical distribu- 
tion of markets. The markets may be divided into 
two classes :— 
(1) Those which require foreign supplies to meet 
the home demand. These markets are situated for 
the most part in Europe, but in the Far Hast a small 
demand for foreign wheat has grown up. 
The comparative strengths of these markets may be 
seen from the following table, showing average annual 
production of wheat and average annual imports of the 
chief importing countries during the last three 
decades :— 
TABLE I. 
Average Annual Pro- Average Annual 
duction in Millions of __ imports in 
COUNTRIES Bushels Millions of Bushels 
1881 | 1891 | 1901 } 1910 || 1881 | 1891 | 1901 | 1910 
to to to to to to to to 
1890 | 1900 | 1910 | 1914 |} 1890 | 1900 | 1910 | 1914 
United Kingdom ...' 76 | 60] 55 59 || 144 | 177 | 209 | 201 
German Empire «| 104 | 125 | 183 | 152 18 41 70 68 
Belgium ie | 18}; 16{ 13} 15 || 21) 89] 46] 49 
Italian Peninsula ...| 118 | 125 | 163 | 187 23 | 22; 38) 53 
Holland oa ae 6 5 5 5 11 15 20 22 
Switzerland ... sal 3 4 4 | 3°3 12/ 15] 17] 16 
Scandinavia ... aa 4 5 6 8 4/ 72 11 10 
France see | 8301 | 305 | 319 | 317 39 386 { 10] 438 
Therian Peninsula ...| 107 | 99 | 181 | 180 9/ 10] 12 6 
Union of 8. Africa ... 2 2 3] — -jo 8);— 
Egypt... wi ve-| 12 13 20 | 35 6 1 6 8 
Japan ... aos «| 13] 19] 20 | 24 0 1 5 4 
