§ MR. LOUGHI beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether any fall in retail prices or increase in consumption of sugar has taken place in France, Germany, Holland, or Belgium, as a result of the Brussels Convention between 1st September, 1903, and 1st March, 1904,. as compared with, the corresponding period in 1902–3.
§ MR. GERALD BALFOURComparisons of consumption of sugar during periods so short as those specified in the Question are apt to be misleading, but such figures as I have seen point to an increase of consumption in Germany, France, and Belgium. In Germany and France the retail price of sugar at the beginning of the present year was lower than at the beginning of 1903. If further information is required I must ask for longer notice.