§ MR. PLATT-HIGGINS (Salford, N.)To ask the Secretary to the Board of Trade how much the wholesale price of sugar has fallen in the last three months; and how to-day's prices for prompt and for future delivery compare with the average price paid previous to the Brussels Convention.
(Answered by Mr. Bonar Law.) The fall in the market price of 88 per cent. beet sugar, f.o.b. Hamburg, since the beginning of May has amounted to 2s. 5¼d. per cwt. The present quotation (3rd August) for prompt delivery is 10s. 1½d. per cwt., and the latest quotations for future delivery are 9s. 3d. per cwt. for delivery in October and 9s. 1¼d. for delivery in November—December. The average price for prompt delivery for the ten years, 1892–1901, before the signature of the Brussels Convention was about 10s. 9d. per cwt.