§ 15. Major Legge-Bourkeasked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to ensure that imports of apples in the coming season, especially those from Italy, do not prevent home growers from disposing, at fair prices, of their crops which are expected to be unusually large.
§ Mr. P. ThorneycroftThe purpose of the restrictions on imports of apples from non-sterling sources is not to keep up prices but, as I have explained on previous occasions, to limit expenditure of foreign exchange.
§ Major Legge-BourkeWould my right hon. Friend bear in mind that this year, next year, and probably the year after that, more and more new apple trees will be coming into production as the result of growers having answered the appeal of previous Governments to increase their output, and will he make sure that, as a result of the growers having answered the appeals of other Governments, they will not be let down by this Government?
§ Mr. ThorneycroftSo far as quota restrictions are concerned, I am, of course, limited to quotas for balance-of-payments reasons.