HC Deb 24 June 1954 vol 529 c62W
92. Lieut.-Colonel Bromley-Davenport

asked the President of the Board of Trade what principles were adopted by his Department with regard to the granting of import licences for importation into this country of Polish bilberries during the seasons 1952, 1953 and 1954, respectively.

Mr. P. Thorneycroft

The general principle which the Board of Trade adopts in distributing licences for the import of Polish bilberries is that each request for a licence should be measured against the applicant's past interest in the trade. Exceptionally, as was made clear to the applicant at the time, licences for a large share of the quota were given in 1952 to an applicant who had not previously imported bilberries from Poland in order to avoid the possible waste of a perishable commodity.