asked the Minister for Finance if he will state the amount spent in dollars since 1st January, 1952, on prunes and raisins imported from the United States and if he will indicate why such dried fruits cannot be obtained in the sterling market from Greece, Turkey and the Middle East.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Imports of Dried Fruits.
The amount of dollars spent on the purchase of prunes and seedless raisins from the U.S.A. was 977,000 during the year 1952 and 625,000 during the first nine months of 1953.
As regards the second part of the Deputy's question, I would remind him that the Minister for Finance is concerned with the allocation of exchange facilities for external payments. The initiative in seeking exchange facilities for imports rests with the trade and facilities have been provided to the full extent sought for imports of dried fruit from Greece, Turkey and other Middle Eastern countries.
When dollar exchange is provided. it is to meet requirements of particular types or qualities not available from the Middle East or available only at higher prices than the U.S. products. A compulsory diversion of this trade to non-dollar sources would be to the disadvantage of the Irish consumer.The gain even from the foreign exchange standpoint is not apparent in present circumstances seeing that sterling area deficits with the European Payments Union, which includes countries like Greece and Turkey, involve settlement in gold, in whole or in part.
May I direct the attention of the Minister to the fact that during the years of the inter-Party Government there was not one single dollar allocated for the purchase of prunes and seedless raisins from the United States?
There were for mouse traps.
I am not asking the Tánaiste but I am asking the Minister if that is so and if he will state if it is a fact that the dried fruit that was obtained from the Middle East—from Greece and Turkey—was quite in order, was of very high quality and of first standard, and that it is absolutely unnecessary to be securing prunes and raisins from California when they could be got from the sterling market to the satisfaction of the people who require them?
Is the Deputy making the suggestion that the consumers of this country should, through the operations of the Exchequer, pay more in gold for the raisins from these countries than they did in dollars for the raisins from America?
Would the Tánaiste disclose what information he has about the mouse traps?