§ Sir A. Hurdasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now state the outcome of the negotiations for a new international wheat agreement.
§ Mr. John HareYes. The Conference to which my hon. Friend refers has been at work for some five weeks and has now completed its task. An International Wheat Agreement of a quite new kind has been devised. This Agreement, while furnishing the exporting countries with the assurances they require, should involve no burdensome restrictions on the freedom of our traders. The principal obligation upon importing members is to buy a specified percentage of their normal commercial imports of wheat from member exporting countries as a whole. The specified percentage for the United Kingdom and any acceding Colonial Terri-106W tories would be 80 per cent. In recent years only 3 per cent. of our imports have come from non-member countries. The new price range is $1.50 to $1.90 per bushel for No. 1 Northern Manitobas, the maximum being 10 cents less than it is under the expiring Agreement. Provision is made for the regular review of wheat production policies and of problems of surplus disposal, and for the study of the means of encouraging consumption.
Her Majesty's Government's policy in this field, as was explained at the Commonwealth Trade and Economic Conference at Montreal last September, is to support measures of international economic co-operation and to consider on their merits international arrangements designed to moderate excessive short term fluctuation of commodity prices. I am happy to say an Agreement has emerged from the Conference at Geneva which the United Kingdom is able to join. Our delegation in Geneva, therefore, was authorised to say that, subject to the completion of the appropriate constitutional procedures, it is the intention of Her Majesty's Government to adhere to the new International Wheat Agreement in respect of the United Kingdom and to consult the Colonies on whether they would wish to join.
As soon as possible the Agreement will be laid before Parliament as a White Paper.