HC Deb 02 August 1956 vol 557 cc191-2W
Mr. Mawby

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to state to what extent the supply of potatoes fell short of demand last winter.

Mr. Amory

The United Kingdom crop of potatoes in 1955 was insufficient to meet consumers' needs. Total production was down by about a million tons compared with the year before. Over the season, after allowing for imports which did not go into consumption, up to a quarter of a million tons of supplies from overseas augmented our own crop. Even with these imports, prices in shops advanced steadily until they reached 6d. a lb. in March. Without imports prices would certainly have been still higher.

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