Mr. H. Wilsonasked the President of the Board of Trade to make a statement about the restrictions imposed by the Spanish authorities on the shipment of tomatoes to the United Kingdom from the Canary Islands.
§ Mr. P. ThorneycroftTomatoes are shipped from the Canary Islands to the United Kingdom both by lines operating a direct service and by passing lines. For some years the Spanish authorities have maintained regulations designed to260W ensure that the bulk of the traffic is carried by the four lines operating the direct service. One of these is Spanish, one Swedish, one Norwegian and one British. In general, the rule has been that a passing liner might load up to 10,000 baskets (each of 12 kilogrammes) although on occasions individual ships have been allowed larger cargoes.
On 18th October, 1954, the Spanish authorities issued an order containing regulations for 1954–55 season. The order made no reference to the previous regulations under which passing liners were allowed to load up to 10,000 baskets each but contained a sentence to the effect that passing liners were authorised to load whenever an excess of fruit existed. This wording was ambiguous and in the first instance it was interpreted by the Canary Island authorities to mean that no passing liner should be allowed to load any tomatoes unless there was an excess of fruit which could not be carried by the direct services. Certain passing ships were, in consequence, forbidden to load.
Representatives of the passing liners immediately protested. The Spanish authorities then explained that the order had been misinterpreted; there was no intention to exclude the passing lines and the original regulation under which ships of these lines could load up to 10,000 baskets of fruit remained in force. The object of the new regulations was to allow passing vessels to load without limitation when it could be demonstrated that there was an excess of fruit which could not be transported by the regular services. Shipments by passing lines were thereupon resumed.