§ 29. Mr. Hiltonasked the President of the Board of Trade the tonnage of foreign carrots imported into this country during the last period of three months of which he has particulars; what was the price per ton; and how 1117 this tonnage and price compares with a similar period in 1960 for imported carrots.
§ Mr. ErrollImports of fresh or chilled carrots from all sources during the first three months of 1961 were 2,178 tons valued at £64 per ton, compared with 2,406 tons valued at £67 per ton during a comparable period last year.
§ Mr. HiltonIs the Minister aware that while this large amount of carrots was being imported farmers in my constituency in Norfolk were having to plough back carrots into the land because there was no sale for them? Is this not a stupid situation? Will the right hon. Gentleman watch the situation carefully, because this is an expensive crop to grow and if this sort of thing is allowed to expand too much it can cause grave financial loss to farmers and could lead to unemployment among farm workers?
§ Mr. ErrollWe have been watching the progress of imports. They are less this year than for the comparable period last year, although we appreciate that because there was an exceptionally heavy crop in 1960 there is a surplus of home-produced carrots.