§ 61. Mr. Championasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will institute an inquiry into the possibility of banning imports of meat from Argentina, with special reference to the estimates of the shortfall in our beef requirement if imports from that source were totally banned, and of the cost to the British consumer and taxpayer if the the home and dominions industries were stimulated to expand beef production so as to make up the shortfall; what the effect would be of such stimulation on other forms of meat production; and how the cost to the British people would compare with the payments for compensation and the cost of precautionary measures in foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks attributable to meat from South America, including, if possible, an estimate of the cost to the British agricultural industry of the loss caused by the destruction of cattle.
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§ Mr. John HareNo. I have already examined very thoroughly the arguments for and against banning imports of Argentine meat, and I am satisfied that the balance of advantage to the taxpayer and the consumer is in favour of continuing to allow these imports, which provide about 20 per cent. of our beef and 15 per cent. of our total meat supplies. But we shall, of course, continue to take all the steps that we can, with the co-operation of the Argentine authorities, to reduce the risk of introducing the disease.