Mr. LEVERTON HARRISasked the President of the Board of Trade if he would state what was the difference between the average price per imperial quarter of wheat in London and in Paris for the year 1909?
Mr. BUXTONThe official average price of all British wheat sold in the London market in 1909 was 37s. 6d. per imperial quarter. The official average price of all wheat—mainly home grown—sold in the Paris market was 42s. 5d. In 1909 the import of wheat and flour into France was insignificant, amounting to only about 2 per cent. of the total consumption. In 1907, when the French import was about 4 per cent. of consumption, the corresponding prices were:—London, 31s. 6d.; Paris, 41s. 1d. In 1903, when the French import was between 5 and 6 per cent. of consumption, the corresponding prices were:—London, 27s. 3d.; and Paris, 39s.
Mr. LEVERTON HARRISasked the President of the Board of Trade if he can say what octroi or other duties beyond the 12s. 2d. a quarter import duty are payable upon foreign wheat sold in Paris, and what the cost of transport on foreign wheat from Havre to Paris amounts to?
Mr. BUXTONNo octroi duty is leviable on wheat brought into Paris. I understand that the railway rate on wheat carried in sacks from Havre to Paris is from 8½ to 9 francs per metric ton, or about 1s. 6d. per quarter.
Mr. LEVERTON HARRISasked the President of the Board of Trade if he can say what is the average annual consumption of wheat and wheat flour per head of the population in France and the United Kingdom, respectively, for the period 1905–8?
Mr. BUXTONThe average annual consumption of wheat per head of the population in the years 1905–8 was 511 lbs. in France and 361 lbs. in the United Kingdom. In these figures wheat flour has been taken at its equivalent in grain.