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(2) There are two aspects of procurement, the national and the international. With regard to the former, the Committee recommends that wartime controls should be re-established or maintained as long as shortages continue so that maximum quantities of home-produced and imported grains, and other foods in short supply, should be available for distribution in accordance with Government policy. The Committee is informed that wartime food controls are being maintained! or even re-established in a number of countries. (3) With regard to international procurement, the Committee urges that a system should be developed whereby the disorderly competitive buying by countries of foods in short supply is eliminated and procurement undertaken in a co-ordinated manner to provide fair participation to all claimant countries. This need not necessarily call for the establishment of international trading boards or corporations authorized to purchase surplus stocks, or to obtain supplies for relief or other special purposes. Co-ordinated buying might be continued along the lines which are at present being followed, whereby one organization or one Government acts as purchaser on behalf of other countries, within the framework of the national allocating body. The supplies purchased should be allbcated in accordance with the recommendations of that body and the allocation principles referred to later. (4) The attention of the Committee was drawn to the suggestion that present methods of procurement for export are not fully satisfactory. It recommends that the allocating body should be notified of (a) the total exportable supplies of any given country, and (5) supplies available for allocation. It is the responsibility of countries to see that the latter are made available to the purchasing authority. Should a producing country declare that a particular quantity of any given food represents its exportable surplus for allocation, it is desirable that the declaration be accompanied by information as to how this surplus has been determined. In particular, the country should state what quantities are being retained for home use and the general purpose to which these quantities are being devoted. (5) In implementing the procurement and shipment of allocated foodstuffs, supplying Governments or procurement agents shall to the greatest practicable extent frame their programme in such a way as to assure equity between claimant countries and, in the event of there being a shortfall, endeavour to distribute it proportionately among the several claimants. Further, supplying Governments or procurement agents shall report to the lEFC at frequent intervals on progress in shipments against the allocations of all claimants, and where any particular country has received a disproportionately low share, readjustment should be made in a subsequent period. (6) With regard to the internal collection and procurement of food, the Committee notes that in a number of countries the Boards which have been established to collect the food produced are to be maintained in operation. Reference was made to the procedures in vogue in certain countries by which national bodies undertake the purchase of the entire quantities of certain foods marketed by individual producers. As long as shortages continue, such arrangements should be maintained, and other countries should consider the desirability of adopting similar arrangements so that the maximum quantity of supplies may be directed into the most useful channels and made available for international allocation. (7) It has been stated that food distribution is not adequately controlled in certain important importing countries. Strict controls should be maintained to ensure that where grain is supplied to a claimant country for human consumption it is not diverted for use as feed for animals, and also to ensure that
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