§ 32. Sir L. Plummerasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the value of our imports of maize from Roumania and from dollar sources during 1953, 1954, and the first ten months of 1955, respectively.
Mr. AmoryAs the reply contains a number of figures, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Sir L. PlummerWill these figures not show that we spend £20 million a year in importing American maize and about £1 million in importing Roumanian maize?
1642 Would it not be to the benefit of British agriculture and of the balance of payments if we imported more good maize cheaply from Roumania than rather inferior and expensive dollar maize from the United States?
Mr. AmoryOur importers are, of course, free to import maize from Roumania, and, no doubt, will consider doing so whenever the price quoted is favourable.
§ Following is the reply:
| IMPORTS OF MAIZE INTO THE UNITED KINGDOM IN TERMS OF VALUE | |||
| — | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 (January-October) |
| £ c.i.f. | £ c.i.f. | £ c.i.f. | |
| Roumania | 1,080,602 | 794,834 | 1,051,306 |
| Dollar sources | 23,190,160 | 19,342,881 | 23,171,382 |