14. Mr. De la Béreasked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the shortage of feeding-stuffs and wheat offals for cattle, steps will be taken to curtail the supply of these products to those manufacturers who convert them into small cubes at uneconomic prices, 9 since the Government control does not permit of these uneconomic prices being paid?
§ The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. W. S. Morrison)I have been asked to reply. As the prices of practically all animal feeding-stuffs are fixed by the Feeding-stuffs (Maximum Prices) Order, 1939, I do not think that action upon the lines suggested by my hon. Friend is called for.
Mr. De la BéreIs my right hon. Friend aware that these compound mixtures are normally sold at 50 per cent. above their cost of production, and would it not be far better to let the ingredients of which these cubes are made be sold at an economic price to farmers, in view of the shortage of feeding stuffs? We do not want these compound mixtures.
§ Mr. MorrisonIf, as the hon. Member says, owing to the control it is no longer economic for the manufacturers to produce these compound feeding stuffs, I should think it is not necessary by order to prohibit their manufacture.
Mr. De la BéreIs it not a fact that the milling combines are using a good deal of feeding stuffs for this purpose, and would it not be better to direct them on to the market through the normal channels without their being made into these fantastic cubes?
§ Mr. MorrisonI think the compounds to which the hon. Member refers are useful, and also that prominent suppliers can be trusted to make the most economical use of the resources at their disposal.
§ Mr. PurbrickIs the Minister aware that the method of feeding cattle by cubes is looked upon generally as being the most scientific and the most economic?