§ Mr. Loughlinasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about fish supplies and prices this year, and how they compare with 1963.
§ Mr. HoyOver the year so far, both supplies and prices of fish have been generally higher than in the corresponding period last yast year. Total landings of demersal fish in Great Britain were 11,874 thousand cwts. in the first 10 months of 1963 and 12,303 thousand cwt. in the same period this year. British landings increased by 287 thousand cwt., and foreign landings by 142 thousand cwt, In addition imports of frozen fillets increased from 411 to 624 thousand cwt., the equivalent of an increase of roughly 550 thousand cwt. of fresh fish.
Within these totals, there has been some reduction in the landings of fresh cod—from 5,591 thousand cwt. to 5,530 thousand cwt. in the same periods—but this has been more than made good by increased imports of frozen cod fillets—from 176 to 348 thousand cwt. equivalent to about: 450 thousand cwt. of fresh fish.
The average price of all demersal fish in the first 10 months of 1963 was 71s. 28W a cwt. and this year it was 74s. 11d. a cwt. Within these broad averages, the prices of particular kinds of fish have moved in different ways. For example, prices of fresh cod have increased by more than the average—from 67s. to 75s. 10d. a cwt.—but prices of cod fillets have actually fallen, from 173s. ld. to 169s. 9d. a cwt. The price of haddock has also fallen—from 77s. 9d. to 71s. 5d. a cwt.—and has recently been substantially lower than in the corresponding period of 1963.