as 1. Increased Demand

| tion 2 Paixao pointed out that in her area the situa-
the p, Could be better”. Demand had increased since
Ang TOVisional Government fixed the minimum wage.
eon, 'S Year the crops were not very good, mainly
ho, Use of too much rain. Hence there were some
Ge Bes, although not of major significance. :
hay, tally, prices in fresh vegetables and fruits
tiie NOt been frozen. Outside of the cies it was
Ve lt to ‘keep track of prices because the markets
Dtigj SO small. In the cities a clear form of market
: te” perates. Julia noted that no proper statistical
tin, Were available but she had a feeling they were
‘age & lot”. (Other economists also mentioned the
an gtbate Statistical services, which for working
*Reigy Sts was one of the more painful results of the
__ Period.)

Feels Optimistic

hile fresh Vegetables producers are not organized,
__ "fruits there are some cooperatives. There are

‘sasters as an investigating organization.
to 4,_'SSion has never provided decent medical
treat Sutvivers (and in fact obstructed study
als in order to collect its “research data )
in $8 file of 125,000 victims in Hiroshima and
Sur 8gasaki who survived the bombing co a
fo Yeys “in order to prepare the U.S. arm
* their next nuclear war, estimating the

no major monopolies; the producers are generally
small, and as Julia commented, ‘“‘not so rich . At the
time of our discussion, Julia was’ hoping for the
official adoption of a policy of organizing producers
to market their fruits and vegetables directly. She
‘was optimistic about future progress, commenting
that “big measures have not yet been taken - But she
also felt that there was some urgency in the situation,
that decisions should be taken “as soon as possible”.

Unlike the fresh vegetables and fruit area, Portu-
guese wines have a much larger export _market.
(Wine is 20% of total agricultural production, and
20% of wine production is exported, accounting for
10% of total Portuguese exports.) Margarida Cordosa
was also concerned about giving marketing assistance
to producers.

Wine production was based on small independent
producers. The producers give the grapes to coopera-
tives who vinefy their produce. From here, exports
and domestic marketing firms buy the wine from the

EMRE '74
po and efficiency of their nuclear attacks against
eS i Japanese statis-

cited carefully collected Japanes
ti apie that the total number of deaths from the
ane bombings has reached more than 300,000,
ch higher than the official U.S. estimates. Ninety
ie ent of the registered sufferers, totalling 346,843
prone as of March 31, 1974, have complaints about

AC

cooperatives and bottle it. At present Margarida is
involved in discussion of the creation of bottling
centres to aid the cooperatives in marketing. Opera-
tion of these process on a centralized basis, primarily
fcr domestic production, would help opercome the
problem of undercapitalization suffered by many of
the producer-owned cooperatives.

Liquid Solidarity

Margarida voiced worries about a possible overpro-
duction problem this year. There appears to be a good
grape crop, but there also has been a general decrease
in wine consumption in both internal and external

-markets. Although prices should fall, there may still

develop a surplus on the market.

In spite of the present economic problems, Marga-
rida remained generally optimistic about future pros-
pects in her area. As well, she hoped that Canadians
who had been boycotting or avoiding Portuguese
wines take advantage of the new situation to enjoy
some liquid solidarity with democratic Portugal.

their health, including “A-bomb-lingering disease
(debility with lassitude, dizziness and sleeplessness).
Many of them are entering their later years and are
biologically aging faster than normal. Their disease
rate from cancer, leukemia and various kinds of
anemia remains 2.5 times greater than the average.

The tragedy of the isolated old person who suffered
the atomic bombing being found alone a few days
after death is becoming common. The second and third
generations of A-bomb victims enter life in danger
of hereditary after-effects of radioactivity and of suf-
fering social discrimination because of their afflic-
tion. All these complaints are made worse by grossly
inadequate concern on the part of the Japanese gov-
ernment. The anti-A&H bomb movement of, Japan
is stepping up its campaign to force the passage of a
proper relief law for atomic sufferers based upon
adequate government-paid compensation.

A third important contribution to the Conference
discussion was made by Professor Yasuo Miyake of
the Science Council of Japan and the Tokyo Meteo-
rological Research Institute. Prof. Miyake pointed out
that after the conclusion of the Partial test ban

' treaty in 1963 and the consequent cessation of atmos-

pheric nuclear tests by the U.S. and the USSR, the
annual rate of radioactive fallout in Japan began at
first to fall rapidly. However he then noted that “the
annual fall rate of radioactive debris has not shown
any decrease since 1966. This unfavorable situation
is caused by the series of test explosions carried out
by the People’s Republic of China since 1964”. In
particular, “the major part of radioactive strontium-

fallout in recent years in Japan originated from the
PRC tests.”

Prof. Miyake urged that no further Chinese, French,
or other nuclear tests be carried out, in order to

prevent further pollution of the earth’s environment
by bomb-produced radioactivity

.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1974—Page 7