§ 17. Mr. Jannerasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware of the repercussions which the shortage of main crop potatoes is likely to have on the supply of fish and chips during future weeks; and what steps are being taken by him, in conjunction with the Potato Marketing Board, to ensure that sufficient potatoes will be planted this spring to make Great Britain self-supplying in potatoes next year.
Mr. AmoryI am aware that fish fryers are concerned about supplies of potatoes for the remainder of the season, though I do not think they are experiencing any difficulty in obtaining supplies at the present time. The extent to which farmers plant potatoes this year will, of course, be determined by the farmers themselves; they will no doubt take into account this year's experience and the minimum price guaranteed by the Government.
§ 25. Mr. Awberyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware that on Saturday potatoes were being sold retail at 1s. 4d. and 8d. a lb. for new and old, respectively; what stocks were in hand on this date and the corresponding date last year; and if, in view of this further rise in price, he will now reimpose price control.
Mr. AmoryAccording to my information, the most usual prices at the end of last week were 1s. per lb. for new and 5d.-6d. for old potatoes. Stocks of potatoes on hand at this date are considerably less than at the corresponding date last year, owing to the light yield of the 1955 crop, but any estimate might be misleading. The Answer to the last part of the Question is, "No, Sir."