asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will state whether arrangements have been made to import the estimated required quantity of 375,000 tons of wheat, from whom it will be bought, and the price at which wheat for delivery to this country stands on the market to-day.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Wheat Imports.
Up to the present, import licences covering 180,000 tons of wheat or approximately half the total estimated requirements, have been issued to the importers. The wheat will be bought on the best available market having regard to its price and quality. At present the price of wheat varies from approximately £24 10s. a ton c.i.f. to £28 a ton c.i.f.
Has the Minister made any differentiation in the licence as between hard and soft wheat?
No.
Does the Minister propose to exercise no control over the question as to whether these licences are to be used for the purchase and import of No. 1 Manitoba, on the one hand, or Pacific and Australian, on the other, in view of the fact that the price differentiation between these two wheats might be of the order of £8 or £10 per ton?
These are all matters that will have to be considered, but I have no information of the extent of the control as between one variety and another.
Is the Minister aware that it is common experience in the Department of Agriculture and in the Department of Industry and Commerce that both millers and bakers have a natural tendency to purchase as much, up to a certain limit, of Manitoba wheat as they will be allowed and that it could cost the Government £500,000, if a wise discretion were not used in allocating these import licences to Australian and Pacific, on the one hand, and Manitoba, on the other?
The many matters involved in all these questions are being kept in mind.
I hope they are.
Is it not a fact that the licences have already been issued?
It is, but that does not mean that the licences have been used.
Surely the Minister would agree that once you issue a licence without terms, you cannot add terms afterwards. That would be a queer way to do business.