§ 13. Mr. Darlingasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will state the figures of wholesale and retail prices for the main cuts of beef, lamb and mutton given to him in his recent talks with representative meat traders.
§ Mr. SoamesRetail meat prices are affected not only by wholesale prices but by many other factors such as the cut, the local preference for particular cuts, the type of service the butcher gives his customer and the butcher's constant overhead costs. One cannot, therefore, assess a representative figure of retail meat prices applicable to the country as a whole. Wholesale prices—on Smithfield Market—for sides but not cuts are published and are therefore freely available.
§ Mr. DarlingOne understands the difficulties, but only a week ago the Minister said that he had had discussions with the meat traders and was satisfied that they were attempting to reduce meat prices. No customer I know has seen any evidence of reduced prices, although the cost of cattle and the wholesale prices in Smithfield Market are falling. Would it not help enormously if the Minister gave us some evidence—the kind of evidence which apparently the traders gave him—so that he could make a satisfactory speech in the House on behalf of the traders?
§ Mr. SoamesIt is impossible to assess retail prices over the country. When the butchers' representatives came to see me the other day I made a great point of the fact—and they agreed—that there was a need to stimulate the consumption of 583 meat at this time when wholesale prices are low. One considerable firm which owns about 400 shops—and this answers the question about beef, lamb and mutton which the hon. Member asked—is charging prices, according to the cut and type of meat, from sirloin at the top down to the fore and at the bottom, which have decreased over the last two months by between 8 per cent. and 50 per cent.
§ Mr. KimballIs my right hon. Friend satisfied with the part being played by the Fatstock Marketing Corporation? Surely the farmers' co-operative organisation ought to do something to increase the wholesale price of meat—the price paid to the farmers—rather than try to make a quick profit by joining the butchers' ring.
§ Mr. SoamesI do not think that that is fair. Where the F.M.C. is concerned, what has been happening is that an unusually fast flow of beasts has been coming forward into the auction marts in the last few weeks, quite out of proportion to what happened in the same period in recent years.