§ 7. Mr. Willeyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how the supplies of beef, home-produced and imported, respectively, for the last 12-months period, compare with the supplies for the corresponding periods for the last three years.
§ Mr. John HareAs the reply contains a number of figures, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Mr. WilleySince the figures will be disappointing, may I ask whether the right hon. Gentleman will give beef production a high priority in the discussions which are to take place in the next few months? I know that he is allergic to the farming Press, but will he look at the Farming Express, which had a very good article on this subject and which made some good suggestions a week or two ago?
§ Mr. HareNaturally, I read all the farming Press. I can assure the hon. Member that I think that there will be 971 a substantial recovery in domestic beef production in the current year. I hope that the hon. Member will not be quite
| UNITED KINGDOM PRODUCTION AND IMPORTS OF BEEF OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS | |||||||
| '000 tons | |||||||
| Period | Australia | New Zealand | Argentina | Other Countries | Total | Home Production | Total |
| April, 1956-March, 1957 | 94.4 | 64.1 | 250.4 | 10.9 | 419.8 | 801.0 | 1,220.8 |
| April, 1957-March, 1958 | 116.4 | 43.5 | 272.7 | 8.1 | 440.7 | 805.3 | 1,246.0 |
| April, 1958-March, 1959 | 151.5 | 10.4 | 213.4 | 11.4 | 386.7 | 773.2 | 1,159.9 |
| April, 1959-March, 1960 | 82.5 | 6.5 | 229.3 | 28.9 | 347.2 | 711.8 | 1,059.0 |