On 16th April, 1946, my predecessor made a statement in this House in which he said that because of the serious food situation it had been decided to prohibit, with certain exceptions, the export of manufactured foods and drinks containing scarce ingredients, such as sugar, fats and cereals.

Our food situation remains difficult but, as I endeavoured to explain when I had the honour to address the Cornmittee of Supply on 1st July last, our difficulties are changing in character. Apart from the difficulty of finding the actual food to buy we must now seek to maximise in every possible way the amount of foreign currency at our disposal with which to buy it. It is increasingly to this "double problem," as I venture to call it, that we must address ourselves. Therefore, everything which increases our exports is of direct assistance to us in obtaining essential food imports. In these circumstances His Majesty's Government have decided to allow the export of certain carefully selected manufactured foods—such as beer, biscuits and chocolates—which are of very high money value in relation to the quantities of foodstuffs which they contain.

We shall aim at selling—as much as possible in hard currency areas—£10 million worth of these specialities a year. In order to do this we shall have to use about one half of one per cent. of our total supplies of sugar and about ·4; of one per cent. of our supplies of fats, and a still smaller percentage of our cereals. But with the foreign currency which we hope to receive from these exports we should be able to buy, when they are available, nearly half a million tons of additional feedingstuffs, for example.

I feel sure that the House will agree that in these circumstances this, at first sight paradoxical decision, is correct. I therefore appeal confidently to the Members on all sides of the House to help to explain it. What it amounts to is that we are going to use our processing and manufacturing facilities and skill, plus a very little of our sugar, fats and cereals in order to earn foreign currency which will pay for much bigger quantities of basic foods. I ask our friends overseas to realise this when they see small supplies of foods from Britain, such as high-quality biscuits, jams, etc., in their shops and not to slacken their efforts—efforts which we greatly appreciate—to sell us the maximum quantities of meat, dairy produce and the like—which we need.

The full details of this policy, for example, the foods to which it will apply and the administrative arrangements will be announced after consultations with the food industries concerned, by my Department at an early date.