§ 100. Mr. Rees-Williamsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make a statement on the food situation in Japan, and say what supplies of food are being imported by that country.
§ Mr. MayhewExact information as to food supplies available in 1946 is not in my possession, but it appears that, if indigenous supplies could have been evenly distributed, they could have provided a low average diet that year of about 1,300 calories a day. Unfortunately, the farm population consumed far more than this, and so did the urban population in the early part of the year, so that some urban areas ran out of supplies in the summer months, and imported United States wheat flour had to be distributed. I understand that about 710,000 tons of imported food were distributed between February and the end of October. Japan's import requirements for 1947 are still under consideration. Her imports of foodstuffs in world short supply will be subject to approval by the International Emergency Food Council.