§ 58. Mr. MILLSasked the Minister of Food if he will state for each of the years 1916, 1917, 1918, and 1919 the quantities and values of wheat, flour, and other foodstuffs bought by the Wheat Commission; and the cost of the Wheat Commission for each of these years?
§ The MINISTER of FOOD (Mr. McCurdy)The answer to this question can be given more conveniently in the form of a statistical table. I will, therefore, with the permission of the House, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ The following is the information referred to:
§ The quantities and values of wheat, Flour and other foodstuffs bought by the Wheat Commission are as follows:—
§ (1) Purchases on behalf of the British and Allied Governments:—
| Tons. | Value. £ | ||
| 1916 | … | 2,042,000 | 27,065,000 |
| 1917 | … | 14,979,000 | 211,081,000 |
| 1918 | … | 16,531,000 | 271,656,000 |
| 1919 | … | 8,865,000 | 155,017,000 |
§ The above figures do not include freight and insurance, as the Wheat Commission was not responsible for such items of cost on shipments to destinations other than the United Kingdom.
§ (2) In addition to the foregoing transactions, the following purchases on a cost freight and insurance basis were made for British account only:—
| Tons. | Value.£ | ||
| 1916 | … | 264,000 | 4,298,000 |
| 1917 | … | 870,000 | 19,216,000 |
| 1918 | … | 147,000 | 3,027,000 |
| 1919 | … | Nil. | Nil. |
§ The cost of salaries and establishment expenses of the Wheat Commission for the calendar years was as follows:—
| £ | |||||
| 1916 | … | … | … | … | 460 |
| 1917 | … | … | … | … | 18,000 |
| 1918 | … | … | … | … | 120,000 |
| 1919 | … | … | … | … | 160,000 |