§ 13. Sir W. Smithersasked the Minister of Food what answer he has given to the Buckinghamshire National Farmers Union in reply to their request for the release of potato stocks for animal feeding; and in which other counties such surpluses are prevalent.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food (Dr. Charles Hill)No such request has reached my Department or the Ministry of Agriculture, but surplus potatoes bought in all parts of the country by my Department are already being sold for stock feeding.
§ Sir W. SmithersWill my hon. Friend look further into this, and will the Ministry of Food make sure that these stocks of potatoes, which are valuable raw materials for feedingstuffs, are freely available in the future to farmers and to those firms which process them into animal feedingstuff?
§ Dr. HillThe sale of potatoes for stock feeding cannot be begun until it is ascertained that there are sufficient supplies for human consumption. The sale has now begun.