Potatoes (Hansard, 25 November 1957)

§ 15 and 21. Mr. Dodds
asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will make a statement in respect to the potato situation; and what action is to be taken to obviate a potato shortage in the coming months;
(2) if he is aware of the widespread concern of fish and chip friers arising from the evidence available of a forthcoming potato shortage; and, in view of the unsatisfactory situation experienced in 1955, if he will give consideration to the importation of potatoes at an early date.

§ 26. Mr. Collins
asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware that, since the 1957 potato crop is the lowest since the war, it is necessary, in order to avoid a serious shortage, to decide his policy regarding imports at the earliest possible date; and if he will now make a further statement.

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. Derick Heathcoat Amory)
I have nothing to add to the reply given to the hon. Member for Brixton (Mr. Lipton) on 18th November.

§ Mr. Dodds
Will the right hon. Gentleman tell us what he is waiting for? Is it not now inevitable that there will be a potato shortage and much higher prices unless imports are allowed at a very early date? Is he aware that potatoes this week were 10s. a cwt. more than potatoes in November, 1956? Does he intend to depend upon rationing, or upon people having to do without potatoes altogether?

Mr. Amory
Consultations are taking place at this minute with the various interests concerned, and I can assure hon. Members that I shall allow no undue delay to take place directly those consultations have finished and I have the relevant information. I shall then take a decision at the earliest possible moment.

§ Mr. Collins
Will the Minister bear in mind that prices of £26 and £27 a ton have already reached a very profitable level and that there is danger that growers will hold up supplies in the hope of still higher prices and thereby create an artificial shortage? Is he aware that if he allows imports now prices will be kept steady, home supplies will continue to flow and we shall avert the troubles which we had in 1955, when we had a retail price of 6d. a lb. and mountains of rotting, unsaleable potatoes?

Mr. Amory
I am aware of the point which the hon. Member has made. It will be one of the aspects which I shall consider. On the other hand, he will understand that the present price which is guaranteed to producers is not a full guaranteed price in the sense that applies to most of the other commodities but is a support price.

§ 29. Mr. Willey
asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the amount of last year's potato crop destroyed or not used; and what was the subsidy paid in respect of those potatoes.

Mr. Amory
The guarantee payments on the 368,000 tons of potatoes from the 1956 crop for which no market could be found by the Potato Marketing Board amounted to about £4.3 million.

Mr. Wiley
Whilst appreciating the difficulties in connection with potatoes, which no one can deny, will the right hon. Gentleman accept this as a reason for holding an inquiry into the operation of this guarantee?

Mr. Amory
That is certainly one of the reasons why we are reconsidering the present system. The hon. Gentleman must realise, however, that even when we had State trading—and potatoes were in great demand because there were nothing like so many alternative foodstuffs—in those days considerable quantities of potatoes remained unsold at the end of the season.

§ 25. Mr. Collins
asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in view of the steep fall in the acreage planted with potatoes in 1957, what changes he proposes to make in the present guarantees, or otherwise, in order to effect an improvement.

Mr. Amory
As indicated after the last Annual Review, the Government are considering whether any alteration should be made in the system of implementing the guarantee for potatoes. Any such alteration would need to be discussed with the producers' representatives and taken into account for Annual Review purposes.

§ Mr. Collins
Is the Minister aware that the drop this year to 810,000 acres—a little more than half the 1946 acreage—is evidence that the present system is unsatisfactory to the farmers, and, equally, that high prices and uncertainty of supplies are disliked by the housewives? Does he not agree that that is evidence of the need for a change in the present system?

Mr. Amory
After the last Annual Review, we mentioned, as I have said, that we intended to consider whether a better scheme was possible. I do not claim that the present one is perfection, but I do not think that a fall in acreage would, of itself, be surprising or wrong, because consumer demand for potatoes has steadily declined ever since 1948.

§ 28. Mr. Willey
asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the amount of the subsidy on last year's potato crop.

Mr. Amory
The cost of the guarantee for the 1956 potato crop was about £14.8 million.

§ Mr. Willey
Will the Minister set up an inquiry to ascertain why this enormous subsidy had virtually no impact on the retail price? Will he also explain why we are having these violent fluctuations in potato supplies, greater than they were pre-war, in spite of this substantial support that is being given by the taxpayer?

Mr. Amory
No. I certainly do not think there is any reason to set up an inquiry such as the hon. Gentleman suggests. He will, I am sure, agree that if there were not the present support system, or some other scheme designed to produce the same results, the fluctuations to which the consumer is subject would be far more extreme than they are at present.

Mr. Wiley
Will the right hon. Gentleman expedite the matter to which he has referred and which I raised last week, and give an early decision on the means of implementing this guarantee?

Mr. Amory
That matter will certainly be considered between now and the Price Review, so that if any change is made it will be effective after the Price Review.

§ 33. Mr. Hurd
asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, in arranging for the importation of potatoes from the Continent to make good the shortfall of the home-grown crop this year, he will keep in touch with the Potato Marketing Board so as to ensure that growers have full information about the quantity and timing of imports and can make their marketing arrangements accordingly.

Mr. Amory
Yes, Sir. My Department is already discussing with the Potato Marketing Board the arrangements for importing potatoes should imports be necessary.

§ Mr. Hurd
Will my right hon. Friend take particular care to see that growers have full information about the quantity and timing of imports, because it is most important that home supplies should be marketed regularly to fit in whatever imports are necessary?

Mr. Amory
I entirely agree with the point my hon. Friend has made, and I 788 can give him an assurance that that will be taken into consideration.

§ Mr. Willey
Will the right hon. Gentleman give the housewife also an assurance that we shall not have a repetition of what happened before, when it was only a very high retail price which attracted imports here, and will he see that arrangements are made in good time?

Mr. Amory
I have given an assurance on that point.

§ 40. Mr. Hunter
asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in view of the increase in the price of potatoes and the likelihood of further pending increases, if he will take measures to introduce price control.

Mr. Amory
No, Sir.

§ Mr. Hunter
Is the Minister aware that when price control existed there was no shortage at all, and is he further aware that potatoes are very important to many families, and it is essential to keep them at low prices?

Mr. Amory
I am aware that when potatoes were rationed there were far fewer alternative foodstuffs available. Secondly, I am aware that the effect of putting on price control without rationing would be to drive potatoes under the counter. What we want to do is to provide an incentive for bigger supplies to become available.