§ 19. Major Legge-Bourkeasked the Minister of Food from which countries the 933,859 bulk barrels of beer imported 841 in 1945 and the 929,965 bulk barrels imported in 1946 came; and what proportion of these imports were from Eire.
§ Mr. StracheyOf these imports all came from Eire, except 12 bulk barrels in 1945, which came from British India and America, and 234 bulk barrels in 1946, which came from Hong Kong, Australia. Sweden and America.
§ Major Legge-BourkeWould the Minister give an assurance that the grain exported to Eire did not include barley, which subsequently came back to this country in the form of beer?
§ Mr. StracheySpeaking from memory, we exported a certain amount of barley to Eire for the express purpose of getting it hack in beer.
§ Major Legge-BourkeDoes not the Minister consider that it would have been far more advantageous to British agriculture if the barley had been fed to our own livestock?
§ Mr. StracheyIt might be said if we took all our brewing barley to feed our livestock, then we should have no beer. That would be a very drastic thing to do.