§ 37. Sir GIFFORD FOXasked the Minister of Agriculture whether he can now state what is the present total number of bacon factories in Great Britain which are working and idle, respectively; what is the approximate annual output of each; and what were the comparable figures at 1st July, 1933, or the nearest available date thereto?
§ The MINISTER of AGRICULTURE (Mr. Elliot)I regret that the information desired is not available. My hon. Friend will appreciate that in addition to the 615 curers who are registered under the Bacon Marketing Scheme there are a number of small curers who are exempted from its provisions.
§ Sir G. FOXWill the Minister try to have these statistics published at some time in the near future, and will it also be possible to give the numbers of bacon pigs classified in different grades showing whether the numbers in the higher grades are on the increase?
§ Mr. ELLIOTIt will require a very long inquiry to obtain those statistics, but I will see what can be done.
§ 38. Sir G. FOXasked the Minister of Agriculture whether he can now state which of the bacon factories in this country employed the tank curing process in whole or in part, and to what extent, before the bacon-marketing scheme came into operation; whether any have adopted or extended such process since that time; and how the proportion of tank-cured bacon to the total output of bacon by British bacon factories at the present time compares with such proportion in the period immediately prior to the introduction of the said marketing scheme?
§ Mr. ELLIOTI regret I am unable to give the information asked for.