§ 2. Sir A. Hurdasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how the supplies of beef from home sources, Australia, and Argentina, during the first quarter of this year, have compared with supplies in this period last year; and what is the five-year average.
§ Mr. John HareTotal supplies of beef from home sources, Australia and Argentine during the first quarter of this year were 12 per cent. below those in the same period last year and 6½ per cent. below the average for this quarter in 1955–1959. I will, with permission, circulate more detailed figures in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Sir A. HurdCan my right hon. Friend give us brief reasons why the home production has fallen? Will my right hon. Friend say whether the fall in Argentine supplies has continued in the first quarter of this year and whether Australia has to any extent made that good?
§ Mr. HareYes. There are two main reasons for the fall in home production. One is that the progressive reduction in the age of slaughter, which contributed to the high rate of production in recent years, now seems to have reached its limit. The other is that there has been a falling off in the number of store cattle imported 571 from Ireland, which had also been exceptionally high in the past few years.
On the other point, I am glad to say that imports from Australia have risen from 8,000 tons to 37,000 tons, which has helped to make good some of the shortage.
§ Mr. WilleyWill the right hon. Gentleman say what he considers to be the prospects for the remainder of this
| UNTTED KINGDOM | ||||||
| HOME PRODUCTION AND IMPORTS OF BEEF AND VEAL | ||||||
| '000 tons | ||||||
| Period | Home Production | Imports | Total Imports and Home Production | |||
| Australia | Argentina | Other Countries | Total | |||
| January—March, 1958 | 219.1 | 8.4 | 83.6 | 3.7 | 95.7 | 314.8 |
| January—March, 1959 | 195.0 | 36.7 | 41.1 | 7.6 | 85 4 | 280.4 |
| AverageJanuary— March, 1955– 1959 | 204.7 | 24.8 | 62.4 | 15.1 | 102.3 | 307.0 |