17. Mr. Vaneasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs why it has been found necessary to import 50,000 tons of potatoes from Poland for the U.K./U.S. zone of Germany; and whether any charge for this transaction will fall upon the British taxpayer.
§ Mr. BevinThe food situation in Germany makes it necessary to seek imports of foodstuffs which, like potatoes, are cheap in relation to their nutritional value. The United States authorities made the purchase, and no charge will fall on the British taxpayer.
Mr. VaneDoes the reply of the right hon. Gentleman mean that the enormous surplus of potatoes which used to be grown in the Eastern provinces of Germany have now been reduced into a deficit thanks to the so-called Socialist agricultural policy?
Mr. VaneMay I put it in another way? Does the right hon. Gentleman's reply mean that thanks to land reform—the so-called Socialist agricultural policy—the very large surplus of potatoes which used to be grown in the Eastern provinces of Germany, and which, presumably, should be available for feeding the United States—United Kingdom zone has now been reduced into a deficit, and that we have to look elsewhere?
§ Mr. BevinI think the hon. Gentleman well knows that the food of Eastern Germany has not been made available to Western Germany, and that has been the trouble.