asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will take steps to have the present Grade B price of Irish cattle in England brought nearer the Grade A price as the present difference of 4½d. per lb. is too great and means that many cattle are held longer in this country than they should be from an economic point of view.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Cattle Prices in England.
The margin between the Grade A and the Grade B price for Irish fat steers and heifers exported to the British Ministry of Food, which actually averages less than 4¼d. per lb. dressed carcase weight during the year 1950-51, corresponds, in accordance with the 1948 Trade Agreement, to the margin between the prices paid for similar classes of cattle fattened in Great Britain. I am satisfied that there are no cogent reasons for seeking an increased price for Grade B cattle and that it would not be in the ultimate interests of our producers to do so. Only about 1 per cent. of all the fat steers and heifers sold to the Ministry of Food since the making of the 1948 Trade Agreement have been graded B.