Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 6 Jun 1961

Vol. 189 No. 10

Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Imported Agricultural and Horticultural Produce.

2.

Mr. Ryan

asked the Taoiseach the total value of agricultural and horticultural produce imported since 1st March, 1957, and the country of origin.

Parliamentary Secretary to the Taoiseach (Donnchadh Ó Briain)

Imports are brought to account by reference to the commodity descriptions specified in the Official Import List and the classification used does not rigorously distinguish agricultural and horticultural produce from other imports. I therefore propose, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, to circulate in the Official Report a statement showing, by principal countries of origin, the value of imports in each of the years 1957, 1958, 1959, and 1960, of the aggregate of the following groups of commodities or individual commodities selected from the Official Import List as being most relevant to the inquiry: Live Animals (permanently and temporarily imported); Foodstuffs of Animal origin (excluding Fish and Fish preparations); Cereals and Feeding stuffs; Fruit, Nuts and Vegetables; Sugar and sugar preparations; Coffee, Tea, Cocoa, Spices, and manufactures; Tobacco, unmanufactured; Textile fibres and waste; Hides, Skins, Fur skins and Leather; Natural Rubber and similar natural gums; Oil Seeds, nuts and kernels; Oleo oil; Tallow; Vegetable Oils (excluding essential but including refined); Beeswax; Crude materials (Animal and Vegetable including Seeds for sowing).

Because of the very large number of individual commodities involved the only practicable way of preparing the details required was by calendar year.

Following is the statement:—

VALUE of imports of agricultural and horticultural produce in each of the year 1957, 1958, 1959 and 1960.

Country of origin	Value
1957	1958	1959	1960
	In £'s
Great Britain	6,740,658	7,522,733	8,276,035	8,186,926
The Six Counties	6,354,660	6,286,959	6,596,438	4,912,744
Re-Imports	2,358,788	2,329,891	1,816,196	2,408,957
Channel Islands	4,258	88,003	113,217	98,706
Iceland	84,419	92,451	75,104	95,010
Belgium	138,277	111,096	126,254	219,350
Denmark	553,710	541,895	883,939	159,526
Norway	7,352	6,975	27,728	12,421
Germany (Federal Republic)	149,774	210,051	133,357	201,493
Austria	1,527	2,804	3,735	10,658
France	1,136,754	329,071	246,977	416,357
Netherlands	1,491,271	1,607,411	1,688,927	1,688,729
Sweden	47,212	17,479	63,365	42,060
Switzerland	18,145	45,820	88,130	207,036
Greece	320,562	386,624	158,249	229,443
Italy	252,693	287,786	452,283	463,709
Portugal	79,088	95,598	122,947	52,371
Turkey	192,726	267,873	246,632	327,798
Spain	267,064	254,467	318,717	394,394
Hungary	25,145	27,815	31,266	8,451
Poland	17	100,468	5,682	12,028
U.S.S.R.	120	4,058	138,575	618,372
Germany, Eastern	—	196,785	55	7,510
Finland	30	4,809	136	78,815
Yugoslavia	11,795	28,552	1,893	95,512
Iraq	5,192	11,510	22,685	14,756
Iran	3,625	36,231	38,150	8,506
Israel	236,962	338,003	322,010	324,604
Cyprus	58,085	32,844	78,258	91,155
Ceylon	601,726	563,425	746,344	885,361
India	5,892,300	3,365,631	3,475,029	3,232,112
Pakistan	729,293	840,198	773,883	1,050,859
China	129,603	240,969	289,416	377,040
Indonesia	299,942	202,342	309,382	331,976
Japan	15,149	45,443	96,060	129,131
Philippines	67,679	96,588	82,372	147,378
Thailand	6,786	10,504	40,118	35,266
Portuguese possessions in Asia	19,540	—	—	—
Singapore	5,798	19,020	31,864	16,069
Federation of Malaya	770,675	766,579	1,033,774	1,001,744
British Borneo	224,623	177,900	78,794	153,204
Hong Kong	3,649	4,753	4,627	14,630
Egypt	56,541	103,712	63,148	95,765
Ethiopia and Eritrea	1,304	6,808	9,375	69,293
Sudan	1,394	32,879	110,854	35,229
Rhodesia and Nyasaland	146,472	53,151	100,904	180,293
Union of South Africa	504,869	508,670	558,397	614,744
Canary Islands	484,861	521,205	554,038	605,786
Morocco, Northern Zone	—	27,761	3,711	17,259
Ghana	*	806,177	1,724,229	1,338,246
French West Africa	127,636	57,005	63,872	19,872
Algeria	408,491	299,799	197,815	411,703
Morocco, Southern Zone	82,003	107,768	89,682	74,868
Tunisia	181,642	83,994	75,930	78,243
Reunion Island	16,767	—	—	—
Belgian Congo and Ruanda Urundi	215,120	168,610	254,040	118,780
Angola	32,773	2,823	—	3,812
Portuguese East Africa	61,932	83,942	99,070	18,510
British West Africa	1,219,982	—	—	—
,, East ,,	397,875	481,564	542,716	786,924
Mauritius	25	18,926	10,557	—
Federation of Nigeria	*	451,372	499,826	356,965
United States of America	6,157,151	7,415,866	7,106,951	9,919,749
Canada	2,153,073	4,177,779	3,751,937	2,401,779
Costa Rica	4,841	9,398	15,315	20,032
Cuba	543,363	1,101,115	157,024	588,856
Guatemala	5,679	20,982	1,020	5,692
Mexico	147,031	234,820	183,406	22,580
Nicaragua	3,679	21,046	41,409	44,238
Dominican Republic	1,477,554	—	1,836,929	159,574
El. Salvador	—	46,049	21,150	230
Dutch West Indies	182	27,493	285	—
British West Indies	152,280	175,207	203,379	124,321
Argentina	740,595	3,280,782	3,110,958	2,298,214
Brazil	131,058	333,434	322,164	178,488
Chile	6,961	16,824	11,829	40,671
Peru	349,472	277,528	318,935	347,725
Uruguay	17,240	11,310	19,538	20,764
Australia	3,903,345	2,237,513	5,200,869	3,113,481
New Zealand	827,119	838,929	749,803	885,575
Fiji	—	—	6,785	12,442
British possessions in Oceania	—	21,338	7,779	1,487
Other Countries	53,187	40,873	46,859	81,840
TOTAL	49,920,169	51,703,866	57,111,091	53,856,197

*Included with British West Africa.

General Mulcahy

Can the Parliamentary Secretary state if his list includes vegetables as a heading?

Donnchadh Ó Briain

Yes: Fruit, Nuts and Vegetables.