asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will indicate the basis on which the present price of margarine is fixed and whether he would consider reducing such price in view of the exceptional increase it represents on pre-war prices.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Price of Margarine.
The price of margarine is based on the costs of raw materials, manufacture and distribution. The bulk of the raw materials, which represent the main item of cost, are imported and their price is outside my control. Their present cost is much higher than their pre-war cost.
The price of margarine is kept constantly under review and quite recently the retail price was reduced from 1/10 to 1/8 per lb. If and when the opportunity presents itself further reductions will be made.
Will the Minister consider suspending the regulation whereunder people must register with individual merchants for margarine because, certainly in rural Ireland, a great many people will not bother to register, as their purchases of that commodity are not regular? If the margarine were allowed to be sold at a fixed price to such persons as require it on the same basis as soap in exchange for coupons, without registration, it would greatly facilitate a more equitable distribution of the commodity.
I doubt that. The distribution of the available supplies to shopkeepers would not be practicable without some knowledge of the number of customers whom a shopkeeper has to supply. The reason why consumers are required to register with shopkeepers is to facilitate the distribution of the available supplies to shopkeepers. There is not sufficient margarine, and there is not likely to be sufficient in the near future, to permit of the substitution of another method of distribution.
Surely exactly the same liberty applies to soap.
The soap supplies are much more plentiful.
Surely those who have coupons should, in exchange for those coupons, get supplies of margarine? I know a shop in rural Ireland where 200 people are registered for margarine and not a single registered customer ever buys it, whereas large numbers of unregistered customers ask for it.
The distribution of margarine is based on the number of coupons.