HC Deb 25 March 1941 vol 370 cc440-1W
Sir J. Mello

r asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether the permitted addition to maximum prices for rabbits, sold in scheduled industrial areas to cover transport costs, is having the desired effect on the distribution of rabbits?

Major Lloyd George

The information which has so far been received regarding the permitted addition to maximum prices for rabbits sold in the scheduled industrial areas indicates that the addition is tending to attract supplies to such areas.

Sir J. Mellor

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he will give the reason for the reduction by 2d. a pound of the maximum wholesale prices for skinned wild rabbits; and whether he obtained the approval of the Minister of Agriculture to this reduction?

Major Lloyd George

The maximum prices for wild rabbits before the recent amending Order was issued were as follow: —

Skinned. Unskinned.
Per lb. Per lb.
By wholesale 9½d. 7½d.
By retail 10d. 8d.

A retailer buying rabbits in skin can sell them either in skin (in which case he has the right to skin the rabbit after sale and to retain the skin), or skin them first and sell them skinned. In either case he has the skin, whose present value is about 4½d., and his margin on the sale of a rabbit at the maximum price would average about 5½d. If, however, he bought the rabbit already skinned his margin on the sale of the rabbit averaged about 1d. only, and my Noble Friend received representations from the retail trade that his margin was inadequate. Further, he was informed that a practice was rapidly growing of wholesalers skinning rabbits and retaining the skins and so making undue profits. The maximum wholesale price of skinned rabbits was therefore reduced by 2d. to restore equitable margins as between wholesaler and retailer. In reply to the last part of my hon. Friend's Question, the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries was not consulted on this reduction as the matter was essentially one of wholesale margins of profit and did not affect the return to the producer.