asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he can state the total quantity of millers' offals exported from the Saorstát during the six months ended the 31st October, 1933, the ports from which such offals were exported, the f.o.b. price and the quantity in each case and the ports to which the offals were consigned.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Exports of Millers' Offals.
I am circulating with the official report a statement showing for each description of millers' offals the quantity (with the average f.o.b. price) exported in the six months ended 31st October, 1933, from each Saorstát port and across the land frontier to each country of consignment. I regret that I am not in a position to furnish particulars as to ports to which the offals were consigned.
SAORSTÁT EIREANN.
Exports of Corn Offals in the Six Months, May-October, 1933.
|
Saorstát Ports and Land Frontier |
Country to which Consigned |
Bran |
Pollard, Sharps, and Middlings |
Corn Offals —Other Sorts |
||||||
|
cwt. |
per |
cwt. |
cwt. |
per |
cwt. |
cwt. |
per |
cwt. |
||
|
s. |
d. |
s. |
d. |
s. |
d. |
|||||
|
Drogheda |
Great Britain |
— |
— |
— |
— |
4,835 |
1 |
3 |
||
|
Dublin |
,,,, |
31,854 |
3 |
8 |
28,885 |
4 |
3 |
6,773 |
3 |
4 |
|
,, |
Belgium |
— |
— |
— |
— |
300 |
1 |
4 |
||
|
,, |
Holland |
— |
— |
— |
— |
500 |
3 |
1 |
||
|
Dundalk |
Great Britain |
— |
— |
— |
— |
3,160 |
0 |
10 |
||
|
Galway |
,,,, |
1,000 |
3 |
11 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
||
|
Greenore |
,,,, |
— |
— |
— |
— |
100 |
0 |
10 |
||
|
Limerick |
,,,, |
50,980 |
3 |
7 |
11,000 |
4 |
2 |
— |
— |
|
|
,, |
Northern Ireland. |
9,520 |
4 |
1 |
9,600 |
4 |
3 |
— |
— |
|
|
Sligo |
Great Britain |
— |
— |
5,840 |
3 |
6 |
— |
— |
||
|
Land Frontier |
Northern Ireland. |
41,546 |
4 |
2 |
54,655 |
4 |
4 |
7,704 |
0 |
10 |
|
Total |
134,900 |
3 |
10 |
109,980 |
4 |
3 |
23,372 |
1 |
9 |
In the absence of the information I have asked for I cannot, of course, question the Minister very fully upon the matter. I would like to ask him, however, how he would square the fact that we are exporting offals with the statement made by the Minister for Agriculture to the effect that the great thing was to provide cheap feeding stuffs for the farmers. I would, also, ask him how he would square his statement with some of the evidence given yesterday before the Pig Tribunal to the effect that an artificial famine has been created in the case of offal feeding because of the recent exportation of these offals, and that owing to that the price of pollard has gone up to £6 15s. or £7 a ton.
I am not aware of that fact. The Deputy should remember that the demand for offals is seasonal but the production of offals takes place all the year round and that at some periods of the year the supplies exceed the storage capacity of the millers and a serious situation would arise if that was not relieved by exportation.
When the Cereals Act was introduced was it ever contemplated that such a situation would arise that offals would be sent out of the country?
When the Cereals Act was introduced one argument in favour of it was that the farmers would be supplied with cheap offal.
Is the Minister aware that owing to the exportation of offals the price of pollard has increased by 100 per cent. and that when Irish distributors of pollard offered £3 5s. a ton it was turned down by the millers?
The Deputy should exercise his imagination and try to see what the position would be if instead of exporting offals we were importing them.
I am asking the Minister if he is aware of the fact that as a result of the action taken by the millers the price of pollard has increased by 100 per cent.
It cannot possibly pay millers to export offals if they can be sold in the country.