POTATOES AND FRUIT. (Hansard, 6 August 1941)

§ VISCOUNT BLEDISLOE
My Lords, in the absence of the Minister of Food, I beg to put to the noble Duke who represents the Ministry of Agriculture, the question standing in my name.

THE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES (THE DUKE OF NORFOLK)
My Lords, my noble friend the Minister of Food has asked me to reply. The policy of His Majesty's Government has two main objectives. The first is to put as much as possible of the crop of potatoes into human consumption, and secondly to see that any surplus remaining should be used to the best advantage in the national interest. The measure of the increase in potato consumption is difficult to estimate, but it may safely be set down at not less than 400,000 tons during the past year. This is not a very great increase relatively to the normal annual consumption of about 3,750,000 tons, including that of Northern Ireland. There will probably be a greater increase during the third year of the war, and it is in the national interest that this should happen. A larger consumption of potatoes, as of other home-produced food, means a saving of shipping. What is more important, it will be the best means of maintaining general standards of health unimpaired notwithstanding the loss of certain imported foods, and notably a large part of our normal fresh fruit supplies. There are—I understand—no food values in fresh fruit which do not exist in vegetables, and among vegetables the potato is accorded first place in the order of food value as being exceptionally rich in Vitamin C.
The Government's policy has been to increase the total acreage of potatoes. The total area of cultivation throughout the United Kingdom has already increased by about 50 per cent. A further increase is proposed for next year. It is hardly to be expected that anything less than an extreme shortage of other foods, a contingency which is not within our contemplation, would suffice to put the whole of this vast tonnage increase into human consumption. The pressure of reduced supplies of other foods will, no doubt, continue to operate, but it will rest largely with the consumer whether the alternative is to be potatoes or bread. It is the Government's duty to persuade the consumer that it is both in his own and in the national interest that the choice should be potatoes. An active and useful propaganda for this purpose is being conducted by the Ministry of Food, 1092 and the results have already been most encouraging.
Price will also be an important consideration. Although experience has shown that price reduction is not, under normal conditions, an effective stimulus to increased potato consumption, it will naturally play a part in determining the consumer's choice, if he must perforce increase his consumption of this or some other food. An increase in price would almost certainly operate as a deterrent. It is desirable, therefore, that the price of potatoes should be maintained at a uniformly low level, and it is the Government's intention to see that the level of potato prices to the public does not rise appreciably above the normal pre-war standard. To give effect to this policy a subsidy will be necessary. The cost of production of potatoes, as of all other agricultural produce, has risen since the war, and the Government are under an obligation to growers to ensure them a remunerative return on their potato crop. We are faced, in these circumstances, with the alternative of subsidized or excessive prices to the consumer. A scheme of consumer subsidy, paid in the form of an acreage payment to farmers, is now being considered, but the amount has still to be decided. It will, however, be fixed at a figure consistent with the maintenance of low prices to the consumer.
Consideration has also been given to the possibility of increasing potato consumption by converting surplus potatoes into flour, to be used in a certain proportion with wheat flour in the making of bread. Plant capable of being turned to this purpose already exists in Great Britain, and arrangements are now being made to set up additional plant in Northern Ireland. These factories will probably be completed by the end of the year. Provision will then have been made for a total output of 80,000 tons of potato flour annually, the equivalent of a 2 per cent. admixture with wheat flour for bread. This represents a factory intake of 400,000 tons of potatoes. I should mention, however, that the same plant is also capable of making animal food flour and other processed potato products, and it may be that the balance of comparative advantage will be in favour of using it for some such alternative 1093 purpose. The important thing is that the plant shall be available to be turned to whatever use may be thought best when the time comes to decide. Consideration is also being given to the possible use of raw potatoes for making glucose and in the preparation of manufactured foods. Experimental tests are now being carried out to ascertain the potential demand for such purposes.
Whether it will be possible to maintain continuity of supply throughout the year will depend upon conditions over which the Government have no control—namely, the weather conditions affecting next year's new potato crop. Old potatoes tend to rapid wastage as the summer advances, and it is quite impossible to ensure an adequate reserve in the month of July to make good a really substantial deficiency of new potatoes. Normally, the greater part of our early supplies of new potatoes are obtained from the Channel Islands. These are no longer available, and nothing the Government can do by increasing the potato acreage in this country will enable us to make good their loss during the early part of the season if, as occurred this year, the growth of the new crop is retarded by unfavourable weather conditions. Subject to this reservation, however, potatoes should continue to be available in adequate supply throughout the year. As regards the marketing of surplus potatoes grown on allotments and gardens, this is a matter for my Department, whose policy it is to encourage the orderly cropping of allotments and gardens so as to provide for the growers' own households all the year round. In so far as this is secured, no question of marketing surplus potatoes from the ordinary allotment or garden will arise. If, notwithstanding, it is found that there are any surplus potatoes from allotments and gardens, county garden produce committees should be able to help to dispose of them. These committees are supervised by a Central Committee under the chairmanship of Lord Bingley.
As to fruit crops the continuous cold weather throughout the first half of spring, followed by late frosts of exceptional severity, affected almost every kind of fruit, and, except in the case of Scottish raspberries and the later strawberries, the results everywhere have been disastrous. The crop of home-grown soft 1094 fruits is estimated not to exceed one half of the normal crop, and of stone fruits, other than cherries, not more than a quarter. Apples and pears are also well below the averages for recent years. In view of the reduction of oversea supplies of fresh fruit and pulp, and the shortage of the home crop, the Government have thought it desirable in the general interest to divert a larger proportion of the crop than usual to the manufacture of jam. The Soft Fruits (Maximum Prices) Order was specially designed to secure that the demand from the jam industry would be more attractive to growers than the demand from the fresh fruit market. Price Control Orders will shortly be issued for plums and apples, and in these cases also provision is being made to ensure that supplies of varieties specially suitable for jam making are available for that purpose.
As a further measure for facilitating supplies for jam manufacture, the Government have thought it necessary to impose restrictions on the canning industry. The canning of strawberries, raspberries and black currants has been prohibited altogether except under licence, and licences are being granted only on clear evidence that, owing to transport or other difficulties, the fruit would otherwise be wasted. In the case of plums and gooseberries, licences are being issued for the canning of limited quantities. The black currant crop suffered exceptionally through frost damage, and the yield is estimated not to exceed 4,000 tons. The Government have arranged to acquire by compulsory purchase 2,000 tons for the manufacture of concentrated black currant juice, to be distributed free of charge to all children below the age of one year. The object of this scheme is to provide the minimum necessary supply of Vitamin C, which is indispensable for children of that age.
Notwithstanding the general shortage of commercial fresh fruit, there still remains the problem of dealing with fruit grown in private gardens, both in town and country. The Government have arranged to deal with this problem on the same lines which proved so successful last year. The National Federation of Women's Institutes have again had charge of the arrangements in rural districts throughout England and Wales, and have increased their preservation centres to over 5,600. This is more than twice the 1095 number of last year's centres. The women's institutes of Northern Ireland are making similar arrangements. For urban districts in England and Wales and throughout the whole of Scotland, garden produce committees, composed of members of voluntary organisations, have been set up, and these also are working on similar lines. It is intended that the jam made at all preservation centres shall be disposed of, where possible, through ordinary trade channels, but the Ministry of Food have undertaken to purchase any stocks which it is not found possible to dispose of in this way. I should like to take this opportunity of expressing His Majesty's Government's great appreciation of the; unstinted efforts which members of the women's institutes and other voluntary organisations have made and are making to ensure the success of this important part of our food policy.
A final word as to jam. Although home supplies of fresh fruit available for this purpose will be short, despite the priority of demand accorded to the jam industry, the deficiency will be made good to some extent by reducing the fruit content of jam to what is known as lower fruit standard. This is a recognised standard of jam in peace time, and by no means unpopular. Although perhaps less attractive in appearance than jams of higher fruit content, it has equal nutritional value. Arrangements are also being made to increase the supplies both of jam and fruit pulp from Dominion sources, and without entering into details. I car assure my noble friend that, according to present estimates, there is no reason to fear that jam supplies throughout next year will fall short of requirements

§ VISCOUNT BLEDISLOE
My Lords, while thanking the noble Duke for the very full answer he has given to the House on these subjects, I should like to ask whether he is aware that there is available now in Australia a very large quantity of fruit pulp as well as jam made from Australian fruit—which by the way possesses the advantage of sugar as well as fruit—and whether every effort will be made to render available such shipping tonnage as can be made available for the shipment of these supplies to this country in view of the great shortage of home-crown fruit?

THE DUKE OF NORFOLK
My Lords, I can assure my noble friend that every effort is being made to import as much of this pulp as possible from Australia and the other Dominions.

§ THE MARQUESS OF LONDONDERRY
My Lords, I did not gather from the noble Duke's speech whether he was satisfied with the efficiency of the women's institutes, nor did I gather whether the Ministry have taken any steps to encourage the picking of fruit.

THE DUKE OF NORFOLK
I am not quite sure that either of these two points actually come under the question on the Paper, but from the information I have received my noble friend the Minister of Food is entirely satisfied.

§ THE MARQUESS OF LONDONDERRY
He was with eggs, too!