§ Mr. Walter Johnsonasked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if she will, as a matter of urgency, hold an inquiry into the increase in the price of potatoes in order to illustrate where profit has been made.
§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsI asked the Price Commission on 30th January to report monthly on margins in the distribution of potatoes. The two reports so far received, which have been placed in the Library, found no evidence of excessive profits by distributors. The third report is expected shortly. Some producers have, no doubt, done well, although most will have had fewer potatoes to sell. Returns from agriculture inevitably fluctuate from crop to crop and from year to year.
§ Mr. Walter Johnsonasked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection whether she has any plans for controlling the price of old and new potatoes.
§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsAs my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State said in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock (Mr. Roberts) on 27th April, the Government continue to believe that fixing maximum prices would not be in the consumer's best interests. This would stimulate consumption while making the United Kingdom market less attractive to the imports which are essential to supplement the reduced United Kingdom's stocks remaining from last season's disppointing crop.