§ Mr. Priorasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has from the bacon-curing industry with regard to the breaking of contracts with producers, in view of the losses now being sustained by curers.
§ Mr. HoyTwo bacon factories have announced cessation of killing and curing, but in one of these cases I understand that no breach of contract was involved because arrangements have been made to take contract pigs into an alternative factory.
§ Mr. Priorasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many bacon-curing factories are now in operation as compared with five years ago; what is their capacity to make the Wiltshire cure; and to what extent that capacity is in full use.
§ Mr. HoyThere are 183 bacon factories in Great Britain compared with 212 five years ago. No estimates of total curing capacity can be made but the highest quarterly output of bacon, mainly Wiltshire cured, in the last five years was 37,100 tons in July to September, 1965; production from August to October this year was 86 per cent. of that figure.