§ 86. Sir J. Langford-Holtasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will carry out an inquiry into the system of import of Argentine meat into the United Kingdom and into what percentage of this business is in foreign and American hands, respectively.
§ Mr. Scott-HopkinsNo. The broad structure of the trade is already known and I do not think that an inquiry could serve any useful purpose at present.
§ 87. Sir J. Langford-Holtasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how the quotas of beef allocated by the Argentine Government for 1963 compare with the actual performances of British importing companies since the Argentine Government removed export restrictions in 1959.
§ Mr. Scott-HopkinsThe quotas were allocated by the Argentine Government not to importing but to exporting companies. I am informed that they based182W the quotas for traditional exporters on actual performance in the period from July, 1955, when the last bulk purchase contract expired, to 26th May, 1963. Quotas so based could not precisely reflect the pattern of trade since 1959 but I am not in a position to quote figures.