CAB129-33 — Page 59

Page 59

Page 59

Page 59

icutaku 8/3/4G (1.0pm)

29

HIS DOCUMENTE 668PERTY

PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT)

Page 6

SECRET

C.P.(49) 49

8TH MARCH, 1949

CABINET

COPY NO.

31

1.

MEAT RATION

Memorandum by the Minister of Food

When the Cabinet decided on 17th January to reduce the carcase meat ration from 1/- to 10d. per week and make good the cut by 2d. worth of canned corned meat it was agreed

(C.M. (49) 4th Conclusions, Minute 1) that the future level of the meat ration should be reconsidered in March. I now submit a fresh appreciation of our meat supply prospects for 1949. It shows there is no alternative but to recommend that the total meat ration should be reduced immediately from 1/- to 10d. per week of which only 8d. worth will be carcase meat.

The immediate supply prospects

2.

Carcase meat. This cut rosults from the continued failure of Argentine supplies. Under the Andes Agreement, Argentine carcase meat shipments were to be at the rate of 400,000 tons a year. When it became apparent that shipments were falling seriously behind we made the strongest possible representations to the Argentine Government and were assured that shipments would be at the rate of 300,000 tons a year in the early months of this year. In the January review we assumed that the shipments might be made at this rate. It now appears that during the first four months of this year arrivals will have been at the rate of only 255,000 tons a year. Appendix Á shows our present estimates of the supply and consumption of ration meat in the first four months of 1949 as compared with the estimates made in January and the actual supplies in 1948. It shows that instead of receiving 392,000 tons as in 1948 or 357,000 tons as was estimated in January we shall only receive 326,000 tons in the first 4 months of this year.

3.

The minimum stock of carcase meat. So far we have made good this deficit by draining on our stocks. At the beginning of the year we had 119,000 tons of ration meat in stock. By the end of February we had run this stock down to 49,000 tons and, if we maintained the present rate of consumption, stocks would fall to 37,000 tons by the end of March and lower still in April. But distribution would fail before this because

my experts are all agreed that they cannot maintain nation wide distribution unless our total stocks of ration meat are held at about 45,000 tons. This includes the stock still undischarged in ship in port, the stocks in transit to depots, and the reserves on which wholesale distribution is maintained. It represents only about 2 weeks' supply of imported meat actually in store and represents the absolute minimum working stock without which we could not guarantee to honour the ration. It contains no element of reserve for shipping delays, strikes, or any other emergency.

4.

I have satisfied myself that these stocks are the bare minimum on which meat distribution will works, It is imperative that age 60a4intain this stock and therePage0488 ao so except to cut the carcase meat ration from 10d. to 8d. per week

-1-Page 61 of 488