Mr. Lawasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that great hardship has been caused to firms in Hull and other parts of the United Kingdom through the action of the Dutch 43W government in forbidding the export of processed milk to this Country except upon condition that the number of British firms handling the importation of Dutch processed milk be reduced; whether his department has at any time made representations to the Dutch government on the subject; and, if so, what was the nature of such representations?
§ Dr. BurginAs part of the arrangements which have been under discussion for the control of shipments of condensed milk to this country, the Netherlands Government were asked to take such steps as would ensure that any marketing agreement between the British manufacturers and the importers was effectively carried out. It had, I understand, been found impossible to enforce a previous agreement owing to the fact that the trade was insufficiently organised. The Netherlands Government have therefore made arrangements to limit the number of agents to whom the shipments are consigned, but I am informed that all the regular importers will receive their share of the imports.