Oral Answers to Questions — Agriculture, Fisheries and Food – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 2 December 1957.
Mr John Hill
, South Norfolk
12:00,
2 December 1957
asked the Minister of Agriculture. Fisheries and Food whether, on the basis of figures available to him from his representatives in the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation, he will state, for the last three years, the grower's price and, where applicable, the f.o.b. export price of wheat produced in Belgium. France, Federal Germany, Sweden, Turkey, and the United
| WHEAT PRICES | ||||||||
| TABLE I | £ per long ton | |||||||
| Country | Grower's price | Export price (a) | ||||||
| 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | |||
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) | |||
| Belgium | … | … | 34·1 | 33·0 | 33·4 | Not applicable | ||
| France | … | … | 35·2 | 35·2 | 38·8 | 23·1 | 22·5 | 24·2 |
| West Germany | … | … | 35·2 | 35·9 | 36·7 | Not applicable | ||
| Sweden | … | … | 31·2 | 29·0 | 29·8 | 24·8 | 27·4 | 29·5 |
| Turkey | … | … | 43·9(c) | 45·0(c) | 46·4(c) | 25·7 | 28·4 | 36·4 |
| U.S.A. | … | … | 28·3 | 26·5 | 26·5 | 24·3 | 23·3 | 22·6 |
Mr Joseph Godber
, Grantham
As the reply contains a number of figures, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
Mr John Hill
, South Norfolk
Will not my hon. Friend agree that the trend of these figures will show, first, that the export prices of foreign wheat are frequently below cost of production; secondly, that foreign wheat growers tend to receive a higher return in their own country than is the case with British wheat growers; and, thirdly, that British wheat growing is extremely efficient and economic?
Mr Joseph Godber
, Grantham
Yes, Sir. By and large the figures bear out the points my hon. Friend has made. In some respects they are quite startling.
