§ Mr. Turtonasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will specify the other foreign countries from which, according to the Trade and Navigation Returns, 131,926 cwt. of butter was imported in 1962, showing the quantities imported from each country.
§ Mr. ErrollUnited Kingdom imports of butter from
Cwts. South Africa … … 40,021 Hungary … … 33,035 France … … 28,949 Belgium … … 13,699 Roumania … … 7,517 Bulgaria … … 4,034 Luxembourg … … 3,540 West Germany … … 960 Chad … … 144 Spain … … 20 French Somaliland … … 7 131,926
§ Mr. P. Browneasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will make a statement about the import of butter into the United Kingdom after the current import quotas expire on 31st March.
§ Mr. ErrollImports of butter are at present subject to the quota restrictions which we introduced, as an exceptional measure, for a period of 12 months from 1st April, 1962. We have now concluded that, if import control were not continued, butter prices in our market could collapse and seriously damage our traditional suppliers. We have, therefore, decided to extend the control for a further period of 12 months to 31st March, 1964. Because of various changes in the situation, particularly a reduction in stocks in the United Kingdom, we shall provide for the import of 410,000 long tons, as compared with 390,000 long tons during the current period, and increase the country quotaspro rata, that is, by 5 per cent.