§ 58. Mrs. Castleasked the Minister of Food, in view of the lateness of the home-grown crops of fruit and vegetables and 228W the imminent shortage of supplies, what steps he is taking to ensure an adequate supply of imported fruit and vegetables to make good the deficiency and prevent an undue rise in prices.
§ Mr. WebbArrangements have already been made to permit imports of lettuce for a further fortnight until the middle of May. Supplies of green and root vegetables are at present fairly plentiful. But I can assure my hon. Friend that if the threatened shortage of home-grown supplies does develop we shall take prompt action to modify import restrictions, as far as is practicable, so as to encourage extra supplies from the Continent. It is still too early to make any estimate of the size of this season's home-grown fruit crops.