HC Deb 22 February 1951 vol 484 c219W
Mr. N. Macpherson

asked the Minister of Agriculture what was the number of growers of sugar beet, the acreage under sugar beet, and the tonnage of clean beet delivered to factories in England and Wales in each of the campaign seasons since the war as compared with 1938–39.

Mr. T. Williams

Following are the figures:

Year Number of Growers Acreage Yield of Beet (Tons)
1938–39 38,039 322,034 2,134,070
1945–46 44,300 389,175 3,777,621
1946–47 44,240 402,891 4,441,947
1947–48 41,113 361,677 2,892,009
1948–49 40,747 389,586 4,245,376
1949–50 39,811 391,422 3,861,911
1950–51 39,499 397,748 5,107,660

These figures do not include a small acreage of beet grown in the north of England under contract with the factory at Cupar (Scotland). The acreage figures differ from those in the 4th June returns because of this, and also because the latter include the area under sugar beet seed.