§ 86. Mr. Hurdasked the Minister of Agriculture why the cost of the official standard ration of pig meal used as a factor in reckoning bacon pig prices, which is calculated to have fallen by £4 5s. a ton since last April, does not reflect the actual prices which farmers pay for compound pig meal and cubes which have fallen by little more than £3 a ton in the period.
§ Mr. NugentMy right hon. Friend's information is that the average decrease in price for purchased pig feeding compounds and cubes has been about £3 15s. 0d. per ton since April, 1953. This is only 10s. per ton less than the decrease given by the formula for the wholesale price of straight feeds. Compounds include, in addition to straight feeds, a proportion of more expensive supplements which may be increased or decreased at the discretion of the individual compounded The price of compounds must also take into account 141W the expenses, margins, and delivery costs of merchants and compounders. These factors are normally taken into account at Annual Reviews.