§ 40. Mr. Sparksasked the Minister of Food from what countries wheat was imported in 1938, 1946, and to the nearest convenient date in 1947, stating 771 the quantities received from each and the average consumption of bread per head of the population in those years.
| A.—IMPORTS OF WHEAT: ANNUAL AVERAGE 1934–1938, CALENDAR YEARS 1938 AND 1946, AND JANUARY-OCTOBER, 1947. | ||||
| Quantities (thousand tons). | ||||
| Source of Supply. | Thousand Tons. 1934–1938 Annual Average. | Tons. 1938. | Thousand Tons. 1946. | Thousand Tons. January-October, 1947. |
| Australia | 1,160.0 | 1,549,761 | — | — |
| British India and Burma | 142.5 | 219,856 | — | — |
| Canada | 1,935.0 | 1,441,526 | 2,885.7 | 2,965.0 |
| Union South Africa and I.W. Territory. | 3.9 | — | — | — |
| Other British Countries | 0.5 | 1 | — | — |
| Argentina | 800.7 | 290,533 | 111.5 | 358.2 |
| Belgium | 36.0 | 49,257 | — | — |
| Bulgaria | 17.1 | 686 | — | — |
| Czechoslovakia | 3.0 | — | — | — |
| Denmark (including Faroe Islands | 3.6 | 1 | — | — |
| France | 159.4 | 62,344 | — | — |
| Germany | 26.2 | 13 | — | — |
| Hungary | 7.2 | — | — | — |
| Iran | 4.2 | — | — | — |
| Iraq | 10.4 | 300 | — | — |
| Latvia | 2.9 | — | — | — |
| Lithuania | 14.8 | — | — | — |
| Morocco | 6.0 | — | — | — |
| Netherlands | 21.5 | 10,181 | — | — |
| Poland | 20.6 | — | — | — |
| Portugal | 14.3 | — | — | — |
| Roumania | 137.2 | 180,318 | — | — |
| Soviet Union | 268.4 | 477,155 | — | — |
| Sweden | 19.8 | 6 | — | — |
| Uruguay | 7.8 | 5,931 | — | — |
| United States of America | 200.7 | 790,264 | 392.4 | 336.6 |
| Yugoslavia | 6.0 | 2,875 | — | — |
| Other Foreign Countries | 1.4 | 310 | — | 22.4 (a) |
| Total | 5,031.1 | 5,081,318 | 3,389.6 | 3,682.2 |
| (Abstracts from the Annual Statement of Trade of the United Kingdom and from accounts relating to Trade and Navigation of the United Kingdom.) | ||||
| (a) Other information indicates that this quantity was imported from Turkey. |
| B.—CONSUMPTION. No figures of bread consumption are available for pre-war years, so for purposes of comparison I propose to give figures for flour. The average consumption of flour in all forms, including bread, cakes, etc., per head of the civilian population, is estimated as follows: | |||
| 1934–1938 Average. | 1946. | Year to June, 147 (a). | |
| Civilian consumption of flour in lb. Per head per year | 194.5 | 221.3 | 219.1 |
| In oz. per head per week | 59.8 | 68.1 | 67.4 |
| (a) The latest available figures of consumption are for the year ended June 30th, 1947. |
§ Mr. StracheyAs the answer is long and detailed I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Following is the answer: