§ Mr. Jacksonasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he will consider the advisability of fixing the maximum prices of soft fruits only after the danger of loss by frost is past and a better estimate of the crop is known?
Major Lloyd GeorgeThe maximum prices for soft fruits have already been fixed by the Soft Fruits (Maximum Prices) Order, but Section 10 of the Order provides that these prices shall not come into force until such date or dates as may be appointed by the Minister. The intention is to defer the fixing of a date for each of the varieties of fruits covered by the Order until after the late spring frosts, when it will be possible to estimate the yield, and the date when the bulk of the crop will come upon the market. It would not have been practicable to defer the fixing of the maximum prices until so near the time of marketing, without serious inconvenience both to the agricultural and trade interests concerned.