Mr. BUTLER LLOYDasked the Food Controller if he is aware that the price of Government butter has been raised from 2s. 4d. a lb. to 2s. 6d. a lb.; will he state 307W why, if it is found impossible to sell Government butter at 2s. 4d., a farmer is compelled to sell a superior article at that price; is he aware that the price that the Government has put for producers of milk—namely, 2s. 3d. per gallon—will have, in the opinion of the Shropshire farmers, the result of stopping all butter-making in the district; and if he will consider the desirability of avoiding this misfortune from a national and agricultural point of view?
§ Mr. CLYNESThe retail price of imported butter reverted on 16th September to 2s. 6d. per lb., after being temporarily reduced to 2s. 4d. per lb. It is proposed to effect a corresponding increase in the retail price of home-produced butter as from 20th October. During the winter months all the milk that can be produced will be required for direct consumption, and, as butter substitutes are obtainable, the partial cessation of butter-making should be regarded as a private inconvenience rather than a national misfortune.