HC Deb 10 February 1947 vol 433 cc3-4W
Mr. Wilkes

asked the Minister of Food the total amount of fish, meat, butter, margarine, jam, fats, cheese and bacon consumed in the country during the 12 months beginning 1st January 1938, and 1st January, 1946, with the percentage increase or decrease, respectively, over the 1938 figures.

TOTAL DISTRIBUTION OF CERTAIN FOODS, INCLUDING SUPPLIES FOR EXPORT AND FOR THE SERVICES
Total Distribution (Thousand Tons).
Prewar. 1946
Fish, fresh, frozen and cured … … … … … 1,124 1,093
Carcase meat … … … … … … … … 2,106 1,693
Canned meat (including corned) … … … … … 69 332
Butter … … … … … … … … 502 233
Margarine … … … … … … … … 185 338
Other edible Oils and Fats … … … … … … 372 290
Jam and Marmalade … … … … … … … 212 285
Cheese … … … … … … … … 188 218
Bacon … … … … … … … … 541 303

The above figures, however, do not present either an accurate or a complete picture of comparative consumption. Straight comparisons of the figures in the two columns are not in all cases valid and may be misleading. Any comparisons between consumption in 1946 and prewar should take account of changes in the population and the different proportions going for export and for the Services:

CIVILIAN CONSUMPTION OF CERTAIN FOOD GROUPS IN LB. PER CAPUT PER ANNUM.
Prewar average. Year 1946 Change from Prewar.
lb. per caput per annum. Per cent.
Fish, fresh, trozen and cured (all expressed in terms of edible weight). 21.8 26.2 +20
Meat (including canned) and offal (all expressed in terms of carcase weight equivalent) 104.3 97.2 -7
Oils and Fats including butter (all expressed in terms of their fat content). 45.5 34.8 −24
Jam and Marmalade … … … … … … 10.1 13.1 +30
Cheese … … … … … … … 8.8 10.0 +14
Bacon and Ham … … … … … … … 27.3 15.1 −45

Mr. Strachey

Because of the year-to-year variations in supplies of various commodities and because of the lack of full information on annual stock changes in prewar years, averages for a series of years, e.g. 1934–38, provide a better idea of the prewar position than do the figures for any one year. With the hon. Member's permission, I shall therefore compare supplies in the calendar year 1946 with the prewar averages instead of with the figures for the calendar year 1938, as follows:

account must also be taken of changes in the composition of the tonnages of particular foods (e.g. meat in 1946 included a far higher proportion of boneless meat, than was the case prewar), and of the interchangeability of certain foods (e.g. margarine for butter). On this basis, the comparison of consumption in 1946 with the prewar levels is as follows: