asked the Minister for Agriculture the quantity of barley exported since 1st January, 1962, to the nearest available date, the further quantity which his Department assume it will be necessary to export during the present cereal year, and the cost to date of these exports to the Exchequer.
Ceisteanna—Questions Oral Answers. - Barley Exports.
10.
Exports of barley from 1st January 1962, to 31st March, 1963, were 23,821 tons.
It is estimated that approximately 54,000 tons will be exported in the period from 1st April, 1963, to the end of the present cereal year.
The Exchequer is committed to paying the loss on exports of 75,000 tons from the 1962 crop only. As at 25th May, 1963, subsidy to the extent of approximately £117,000 on 33,000 tons had been claimed from An Bord Gráin.
In view of the fact that all the Class 2 wheat is now used up, would the Minister consider making this barley available to farmers and compounders at the subsidised price at which it is being exported?
The position is that taking the total grain available, the figure I have is that barley purchased from growers, unmillable wheat and maize imports, amount to somewhere in the neighbourhood of 579,000 tons. The estimated requirements are 423,000 tons. There is only one obvious means of dealing with that situation.
Surely the Minister will tell us how much of the total figure of available grain is represented by imported maize?
Ninety thousand tons.
Which is approximately the amount of the surplus.
We are committed to import 80,000 tons under the sugar agreement with the USA.
Is it not a fact that we imported 174,000 tons of maize?
In what year?
In the cereal year ended August, 1962.
I am dealing with the present year.
How much was imported when Deputy Dillon was Minister for Agriculture?
Now, now; you said enough last night.
We had not got to import it at a loss of so much per ton.