§ MR. RENDALL (Gloucestershire, Thornbury)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether under the new German tariff the duties on bread 446 stuffs have been raised approximately from 35s. to 70s. per ton for the general tariff, and to 50s. for the conventional tariff; what percentage of duty is now levied on the principal bread stuffs in Germany; whether the price of such bread stuffs in Germany is greater than their price in England; and, if so, by how much; and, on the assumption that such duties are paid by the consumer, how much out of every Is. paid in Germany for bread will, under the new tariff, be paid by the consumer for bread, and how much for duty.
§ MR. KEARLEYThe German import duties on wheat and rye were 35s. 7d. per ton under the former tariff; under the new general tariff they are 76s. 2d. and 71s. 1d. per ton, and under the conventional tariff 55s. 10d. and 50s. 10d. per ton respectively. The new conventional rates represent 39 per cent. and 43 per cent. respectively of the value of imported wheat and rye as shown in the German Import Returns for 1905. The price of wheat in Germany is higher than in the United Kingdom. The average market price for wheat in Berlin was 38s. 1d. per quarter in 1905. In the United Kingdom in the same year British wheat averaged 29s. 9d. per quarter, and imported wheat 31s. 0d. per quarter. Thus in 1905 the Berlin price exceeded that of imported wheat in the United Kingdom by 7s. 1d. per quarter (or 33s. 1d. per ton) and that of British-grown wheat by 8s. 4d. per quarter (or 38s. 11d. per ton). With the above data the hon. Member must form his own judgment as to the proportion of the price of bread which would be attributable to the duty.