HC Deb 01 February 1951 vol 483 cc141-3W
Mr. York

asked the Minister of Food if he will give a table showing the total, in tons, of animal feedingstuffs available to the agricultural industry during 1950 and an estimate of the total likely to be available in 1951, under the following headings: wheat, wheat offals, barley, oats, maize, oil cakes and meals, other imported feedingstuffs and other homegrown feedingstuffs, stating where appropriate the amounts imported.

Mr. Webb

The following table and accompanying footnotes show the quantities of rationed animal feedingstuffs distributed in the United Kingdom during 1950. These supplies exclude homegrown grains retained on farms by growers, sugar-beet pulp returned to growers of sugar beet and also any purchases of unrationed feedingstuffs dealt with outside the scope of the Rationing Order. The figures also exclude such items as grass, hay, strawroots, chat potatoes, kale and similar farm crops which have not been controlled in distribution.

Rationed Feedingstuffs Imported '000 tons Home grown or home produced Total
Wheat (unmillable) 19 53 72
Wheat Offals 101 816 917
Barley 1,107 485 1,592
Oats 211 159 370
Maize 709 — 709
Oilcakes and meals 453 688 1,141
Other feedingstuffs 355 277 632
Total 2,955 2,478 5,433

Notes

  1. (a) The proportion of home grown wheat to the total quantity of wheat used in millers' grists was 30 per cent, in 1950;
  2. (b) Home-produced oilcakes and meals are derived from imported oilseeds and small quantities of home-grown linseed;
  3. (c) Other imported feedingstuffs include animal protein, molasses, rice bran, locust beans, cassava, mandioca, maize gluten and feeding pulse. Other home-grown and home-produced feeding-stuffs include animal protein and cereal by-products;
  4. (d) The quantities shewn for each category of feedingstuffs are supplies recorded by the Ministry of Food as having been released against ration coupons in Great Britain (together with corresponding supplies for Northern Ireland) including those for domestic pigs and poultry, pig clubs and non-farm horses. Recorded supplies differ from coupon issues in any given period because coupons issued for any one month are valid for the succeeding month also and thus there can be either a delay or an acceleration of up to one month in the exchange of coupons for feeding-stuffs. Moreover there is no record respecting small quantities of unmillable grain and other feedingstuffs supplied by merchants against coupons.

These figures are directly comparable with and subject to the same qualifications as those for the years 1945 to 1949 which were given to the hon. Member on 26th April, 1949, and 27th March, 1950. It is too early to say how much of each kind of feedingstuff is likely to be available in 1951, but it is hoped that the total of imported and home-produced supplies together will be about the same as in 1950, depending on world supplies of exportable grain.