§ 3. Mr. Priorasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will consider making grants to agricultural producers' marketing businesses as is proposed in the Horticulture Bill for horticulturists.
§ Mr. GodberWhile my right hon. Friend is always anxious to assist in promoting greater efficiency in agricultural as well as horticultural marketing, the proposals in the Horticulture Bill are designed to meet the special needs of horticulture and the same methods would not necessarily be appropriate in the wider field of agriculture generally.
§ Mr. PriorDoes my hon. Friend realise that we are now more than ever concerned with the proper marketing of agricultural products, particularly now that the Outer Seven arrangement is coming into operation? Will he give consideration in the next Price Review, even if not in this one, to seeing if 1407 anything can be done to help farmers sell to their products beyond the farm gate?
§ Mr. GodberAs far as the Price Review is concerned, my lips are sealed. As regards general issues, I assure my hon. Friend that my right hon. Friend is as anxious as he is to promote the very best marketing of agricultural produce, but the fact remains that the circumstances are very different from those of horticulture, and in the case of three or four commodities at least there are marketing boards. In most other cases the commodity concerned does not reach the consumer in the same form as that in which it leaves the producer. This is vastly different from the horticultural industry.