It is now possible to summarize the shipments of foodstuffs from the United States to the allied countries during the fiscal year just closed—practically the last harvest year. These amounts include all shipments to allied countries for their and our armies, the civilian population, the Belgian relief, and the Red Cross. The figures indicate the measure of effort of the American people in support of allied food supplies.
The total value of these food shipments, which were in the main purchased through, or with the collaboration of the Food Administration, amounted to, roundly, $1,400,000,000 during the fiscal year.
The shipments of meats and fats (including meat products, dairy products, vegetable oils, etc.) to allied destinations were as follows:
| Pounds | |
| Fiscal year 1916-17 | 2,166,500,000 |
| Fiscal year 1917-18 | 3,011,100,000 |
| —————— | |
| Increase | 844,600,000 |
Our slaughterable animals at the beginning of the last fiscal year were not appreciably larger in number than the year before; and particularly in hogs, there were probably less. The increase in shipments is due to conservation and the extra weight of animals added by our farmers.
The full effect of these efforts began to bear their best results in the last half of the fiscal year, when the exports to the Allies were 2,133,100,000 pounds, as against 1,266,500,000 pounds in the same period of the year before. This compares with an average of 801,000,000 pounds of total exports for the same half years of the three-year pre-war period.
In cereals and cereal products reduced to terms of cereal bushels, our shipments to allied destinations have been:
| Bushels | |
| Fiscal year 1916-17 | 259,900,000 |
| Fiscal year 1917-18 | 340,800,000 |
| ————— | |
| Increase | 80,900,000 |
Of these cereals our shipments of the prime breadstuffs in the fiscal year 1917-18 to allied destinations were: Wheat, 131,000,000 bushels and rye 13,900,000 bushels, a total of 144,900,000 bushels.
The exports to allied destinations during the fiscal year 1916-17 were: Wheat, 135,100,000 bushels and rye 2,300,000 bushels, a total of 137,400,000 bushels. In addition, some 10,000,000 bushels of 1917 wheat are now in port for allied destinations or en route thereto. The total shipments to allied countries from our last harvest of wheat will be, therefore, about 141,000,000 bushels, or a total of 154,900,000 bushels of prime breadstuffs.