§ Mr. Ioan Evansasked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection whether she has received a further monthly report from the Price Commission on distributors' margins in the potato trade; and whether she will make a statement.
§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsI have received the second of the Commission's reports, which I have placed in the Library. The comparison of average producer, wholesale and retail prices in March indicates that there has been little overall change in distributors' cash margins since the beginning of the year. This means that with increased prices there has actually604W been some decline in percentage margins. The level of margins derived from this comparison is confirmed by an examination of the actual buying and selling prices of a sample of wholesalers and retailers.