§ 109 and 110. Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) whether he is aware of the evidence that the forthcoming apple crop will be a poor one, with cooking apples falling short of normal supplies by 25 per cent. and the Cox's dessert apple being 50 per cent. of normal tonnage; and what action he has taken to prevent an autumn rise in prices of apples, due to shortage of supply, by price control;
(2) what was the last allocation of import quotas for dessert apples allowed by his Department; and, in view of the evidence that home grown dessert apples will be as much as 50 per cent. less than last year, what representations he has received to increase the import quota and with what results.
§ Mr. HoyFor the period 1st July to 31st December, 1967 the quota for imports of apples from the Dollar and Relaxation Areas and Japan is 15,200 tons. My right hon. Friend and my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade are considering repre-262W sentations received from my hon. Friend the Member for West Ham, North (Mr. Arthur Lewis) and from a number of processing firms that additional imports of both dessert apples and apples for processing should be permitted because of a possible shortfall in home supplies. The most recent crop forecast prepared by our Department recognises the effect of frost, poor pollination and considerable runoff and indicates that, while some improvement could be brought about by favourable weather from now until the harvest, production is likely to be below the average of recent years. It is too soon to make the quantitative assessments needed for policy decisions but my right hon. Friends will continue to review the position at frequent intervals.