§ 58. Sir Percy Hurdasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he will issue the schedule of egg prices for six months ahead as the prices for cattle and sheep are being published, so that poultry keepers may know where they stand and adjust their business accordingly.
Major Lloyd GeorgeI would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave on 4th instant to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Howdenshire (Colonel Carver).
§ Sir P. HurdIs my hon. and gallant Friend aware that in the opinion of those who know the way in which this egg business is being managed by the Ministry of Food, it is bringing us near to a far greater shortage, if not a stoppage, of egg supplies?
Major Lloyd GeorgeI cannot altogether agree with my hon. Friend. He knows the difficulty as well as I do, which is largely a question of feeding-stuffs. Poultry keepers were warned about last June that there would be a shortage, and they should have acted accordingly. In the circumstances, therefore, I cannot agree that it is the fault of the Ministry. With regard to the question of fixing prices for six months ahead, my hon. Friend must appreciate that this would lead to absolute chaos.
§ Sir Frank SandersonAre we not deliberately killing the chicken that lays the golden eggs?
§ Mr. BurkeIs it not the fact that the price of eggs to-day is substantially the same as about this time last year, whereas the cost of feeding-stuffs has gone up so enormously that there is no comparison between the two?
Major Lloyd GeorgeThe prices fixed for eggs were fixed after taking into con- 518 sideration the percentage increase in such things as feeding-stuffs.
§ Mr. BurkeBut the rise in the price of feeding-stuffs is out of all proportion to the rise in the price of eggs
Major Lloyd GeorgeYou cannot make a comparison between the prices of these two commodities. A number of other factors besides the price of feeding-stuffs must be taken into account in determining the costs of egg production.