§ Mr. Bossomasked the Minister of Food (1) the margin of profit that his Department now takes when selling meat to the butchery trade;
115W(2) whether, as all distribution costs have increased and the margin of profit possible for the butchery trade to earn has diminished, he will consider reducing the wholesale price demanded of the trade, to avoid a large number of butchers being forced out of business.
§ Major Lloyd GeorgeNo profit is made by my Department on the sale of meat to butchers; in fact, there is a net loss which represents the meat subsidy. Periodical investigations carried out by my Department show the level of distribution costs incurred by butchers, and the wholesale prices of meat are adjusted from time to time by surcharges and rebates to allow the trade a reasonable profit after meeting these costs.