§ Mr. Harveyasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to what extent all grain in Palestine, except that reserved for the farmers' own use, must be sold to the Government through a single firm at a controlled price; whether there is any regulation as to the quality of the grain; on what basis the firm which acts as agent for the Government is paid; does the remuneration vary according to the amount of adulteration in the grain; and whether he will state the amount of remuneration paid for the purchase of the grain in 1942 and in 1943.
§ Colonel StanleyIn 1942 it became necessary, in accordance with the general principle of making the maximum possible use of foodstuffs grown within the Middle East, and to ensure equitable distribution, for the Palestine Government to assume exclusive right of buying indigenous wheat, barley, maize and millet surplus to the quantity which was considered sufficient for the maintenance of the producer and his family and for future seed requirements. Assessment of the crops and of village surpluses was undertaken by the District Administration, and prices were fixed by the Palestine Government in consultation with the Middle East Supply Centre. The grain purchased was used in the milling of standard flour. Messrs. Steel Brothers were appointed as sole Government agents for the purpose of actual purchases on Government Account, in accordance with a scale of prices fixed by the Government, of the surplus assessed as above and for its delivery to store. The system adopted in 1942 was continued in the 1943 season with the modifications that maize and (except in Beersheba) barley were omitted from the scheme and that, to save transport and encourage greater co-operation by villagers, the redistribution between surplus and deficit villages was in most cases arranged administratively in terms of grain without intervention of the purchasing agents. The system as modified in 1943 is being continued in the current season. The quality of the grain is regulated by a system of fixing a 2 per cent. premium or penalty on the price for every1334W I per cent. of impure content below or above the norm. The accepted norm on which the basic price was fixed was an impure content of 3 to 5 per cent. in the case Of wheat and barley and 2 to 3 per cent, in the case of millet. It is proposed that in 1944 the norm should be 5 per cent for wheat and barley and 3 per cent. for millet, the object of the change being to encourage the delivery of cleaner grain through more advantageous terms as to premium.
The purchasing agents are paid a corn-mission per ton on the completion of purchase and delivery. The rates of commission are 300 mils per ton for the first 15,000 tons, 200 mils per ton for the next 35,000 tons and 100 mils per ton for the next 50,000 tons and over. The agreement with the agent specifies that this commission is deemed to cover remuneration for their services and all expenses. The remuneration to the agents does not vary according to the amount of adulteration in the grain, but as described above improvement in the quality of the grain purchased is encouraged by a system of premiums and penalties on the price paid for the grain I understand that primitive Primitive harvesting methods have always led to a content of impurities in locally produced grain around the accepted norms, The remuneration of the purchasing agents for the 1942 crop was £P.7,162 and for the 1943 crop £P.1,397. The decrease was mainly due to the change in the method of redistribution between surplus and deficit villages referred to above which took most of the collection for eventual redistribution between villages out of the hands of the purchasing agents.