§ Captain Orrasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the maximum and minimum differential in the London Provision Exchange prices of Ulster and Danish bacon in the last 12 months.
§ Mr. Peter MillsThe maximum differential over the past 12 months, recorded in the three-week period ended 24th February, was £105 per ton in favour of Danish bacon for each of the top two grades. This was due to the price freeze on United Kingdom prices as part of the Government's anti-inflation measures.
The minimum differential for the top selection, prevailing from early June until early August 1972 and in some subsequent weeks, was £5 per ton in favour of Danish bacon. For second quality the lowest price advantage recorded for Danish was also £5 per ton, during the week ended 11th November 1972. In one week—ended 21st October 1972—quotations for Northern Ireland bacon exceeded those for Danish, the difference being £15 per ton for top selection and £10 for second grade.