20. Mr. De la Bèreasked the Minister of Food what. steps he is taking to' secure supplies of cereals from sources other than this country and North America so that the maintenance of our supplies for next winter shall not depend solely on the ability of North America to export.
§ Mr. StracheyI expect to receive substantial quantities of wheat and coarse grains from Argentina this year. Other sources of supply outside North America may provide only relatively small quantities for this country, but we shall get all we can from these sources.
Mr. De la BèreWhy is it necessary to pay the Argentine Institution lot the promotion of interchange £30 per tot, for wheat, as compared with £15 paid to the British farmer and Canadian grain growers?
§ Mr. StracheyWhile I do not necessarily accept the hon. Member's figure, I shall be very grateful to him if he can show me a way of getting Argentine wheat more cheaply.
§ Mr. StracheyIn this case, the Argentine Government insist on selling Government-to-Government, so there is no question about it.
§ Mr. EcclesWill the right hon. Gentleman say whether it is a fact that our wheat stocks, are now down to something like 500,000 tons, well below the 800,000 tons which was considered to be the safety margin? What are our wheat stocks today?
§ Mr. StracheyThe hon. Member knows very well that I have repeatedly stated in the House of Commons that we do not disclose our wheat stocks.