Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am ar 26 Gorffennaf 1935.
I am glad to hear that cheer from the hon. Member for South Croydon (Mr. H. Williams), because he was absent when the Minister referred to it. Personally, I would like to say that this Development Board is the biggest step forward in the planning of agriculture we have had so far. I do not believe that any marketing scheme can survive unless it has some connecting neutral link, as we have in this Board. Far too much time has been wasted with the Pigs and Bacon Marketing Boards in going backwards and forwards, talking about contracts and forgetting all about organisation.
I have risen because I happen to represent a part of the country where there are more pigs than anywhere else. I happen to have the biggest bacon factory in England in my own constituency. I want to draw attention to two things that this scheme is going to do. The Minister touched on the question of waste, caused by overhead costs. Recently two of our very experienced agriculturists went to Denmark and investigated conditions there. They found that the Danes pay more for their pigs, and sell them for less. There is one reason for that— organisation. The Danes are paying from 13s. to 14s. a score for their pigs, and we, for the same pigs in this country, are only getting from 12s. to 12s. 6d. a score. I think the explanation is that the overhead costs in Denmark are 6s. 3d. a score from the farm to England, and our own factories, when they are negotiating with the Pigs Marketing Board, have always said up to now that their overhead costs were at least twice those of factories in Denmark. That is a very important point which needs the immediate attention of the Development Board. The other unsatisfactory feature of the present situation to which I would draw the attention of the House is the question of grading. There are five grades of pigs at present. In Denmark there are only three, and where we as producers get the worst of the bargain in this country is because we get paid 4d. or 6d. a score less for our Grade B than for our Grade A pigs and yet both Grade A and B realise the same price when sold for bacon.
Those are the two main points I wish to put. I am very glad that the Development Board is going into the matter of education and research. There is very great need for it in the bacon industry. At the biggest pig show the other day in the country the pigs judged as being the first grade and best pigs in the show were found, when they came to be slaughtered, not to be grade A pigs as the best judges in England maintained, but two were Grade B and the other two were Grade D. I hope that the Board will do something in connection with that question. I also hope that the Board will be able to find what we believe to be the missing pound between the consumer and the producer. I think that we have done right to start with pig and bacon marketing boards separately and to allow them to get upon their feet. Anything less would have discouraged the whole scheme. The Lane Fox Report laid it down that we needed a development board, and I believe that not only does the bacon scheme need a development board but every marketing scheme.