§ 19. Sir W. Smithersasked the Minister of Food the total imports of canned brisling and canned sild from Denmark, Norway, Holland, Eire and Sweden, by his Department since 15th October, 1949; how much of these purchases has been disposed of; the amount of unsold stock at the latest available date; the total loss or profit to his Department on these imports from 15th October, 1949, to date; and what would be the total profit or loss if existing stocks were valued at today's prices.
§ Major Lloyd GeorgeAs the reply is rather long and contains a number of figures, I will, with my hon. Friend's permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Sir W. SmithersCan the Minister say whether it was a loss or profit?
§ Major Lloyd GeorgeSome showed a loss and some showed a profit.
Following is the information:Total purchases of canned brisling by my Department since 1945 were about 11,470 tons, of which about 3,500 tons arrived after 15th October, 1949. All have been disposed of at an overall trading profit of about £16,500. It is not possible to separate the profit or loss on those imported after 15th October, 1949, as sales in that period included earlier arrivals.2130Total purchases of canned sild in the same period were about 9,380 tons, of which about 3,250 tons arrived after 15th October, 1949. Not all has yet been sold and it would not he in the public interest to disclose the stock now held. I cannot yet say what will be the ultimate outcome of our trading in this commodity.