§ Group-Captain Wilcockasked the Minister of Food why green vegetables and salads are not being sold in the shops at a cheaper price, in view of the fact that there is a glut of this food and the growers are obtaining such a low price from the retailers that they are preferring to plough their cabbages and lettuces into the ground rather than sell them at a loss to the shopkeepers.
§ Mr. Strachey:The supply of green vegetables, including lettuces, depends so much upon the weather that there are bound sometimes to be surpluses over and above what can be sold at an economic price. Nevertheless, I am concerned with the width of the gap between the prices received by the growers and the prices charged by retailers, and also at the failure of retail prices to respond to large increases of supply. The whole subject is being considered by my Department