§ 78. Lieut.-Commander Joynson-Hicksasked the Minister of Food how much of the grower's price for gooseberries at 33s. 3d. per hundredweight is represented by the pickers' wages; why the price is lower than the corresponding price of 1945 at 42s. per hundredweight; and whether he will increase the price to a figure which is remunerative to the grower.
§ Mr. StracheyUnder the provisions of the Home Grown Soft Fruit Order, 1946, the maximum grower's price for dessert gooseberries is 93s. 4d. per cwt. and for other gooseberries, 37s. 4d. per cwt. from 20th May to 30th June, and 32s. 8d. per cwt. thereafter. The 1945 soft fruit prices were specially adjusted owing to damage caused by late frost. Picking costs are variable but such costs have been taken fully into account in fixing this year's prices, and I am satisfied that these prices provide a reasonable return to the grower.