§ Colonel Baldwin-Webbasked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware of the difficulty of purchasing straight feeding-stuffs, such as ordinary thirds, barley-meal, cotton-cake, etc., as merchants are only permitted to sell at a price fixed by the Ministry, with the result that they make expensive compounds, so depriving the farmer of the opportunity of mixing his own feeding-stuffs; and what steps he proposes to take in the, matter?
§ Sir R. Dorman-SmithI am aware that imported feeding-stuffs and those made from imported materials are in short supply owing to the heavy demands for other purposes upon the available shipping space, but I understand from my right hon. Friend the Minister of Food that arrangements are being made to secure, so far as may be possible, a suitable apportionment of the supplies between purchasers who require straight feeding-stuffs and those who further process them. The maximum prices fixed by the Ministry of Food do not relate only to straight feeding-stuffs as a maximum margin over the whole cost of manufacture and materials of compound cakes and meals is prescribed in the Feeding-Stuffs (Maximum Prices) Order, to cover overhead costs, profits and costs of distribution (excluding delivery charges).