HC Deb 24 January 1949 vol 460 cc77-8W
63. Major Legge-Bourke

asked the Minister of Agriculture what consultations were held with his Department before the present agreement with Holland regarding onion imports was signed; what was the attitude of his Department; and what steps he is now taking and intends taking to safeguard the home grower.

Mr. T. Williams

My Department was associated with the negotiations which led up to the Anglo-Dutch Trade Agreement last year. Under the terms of this agreement, which was entered into in February, an embargo on onion imports was imposed for a period then estimated to be sufficient for the marketing of the bulk of the home crop. The difficulty was the abnormally large home crop which could not all find a market during the period of the embargo.