§ 6. Mr. HANNONasked the President of the Board of Trade the proportion of the total raw cotton consumption of Great Britain which is supplied from the British Empire; at what rate British Empire cotton production is increasing yearly; and if any standard of compara- 1655 tive values is now recognised in cotton produced in various parts of the Empire?
§ Mr. H. WILLIAMSIf my hon. Friend will permit me, I will circulate in the
| I |
| According to data compiled by the International Federation of Master Cotton Spinners' and Manufacturers' Associations, the proportion of the total weight of raw cotton consumed in Great Britain during the year ended 31st January, 1928, which was supplied from the British Empire, amounted to about 8 per cent. |
| II. |
| The following TABLE shows the annual production of cotton in British India and other parts of the Empire, and indicates for each calendar year the variation in output as compared with the previous year's production in respect of the Empire as a whole, and the Empire excepting India. |
| Year. | British India. | Other parts of British Empire. | Total for British Empire. | |||
| Production Bales of 400 lbs. | Production Bales of 400 lbs. | Percentage Increase (+) or Decrease (-). | Production Bales of 400 lbs. | Percentage Increase (+) or Decrease (-). | ||
| 1921–22 | … | 4,485,000 | 110,922 | — | 4,596,000 | — |
| 1922–23 | … | 5,073,000 | 164,247 | +48.1 | 5,237,000 | +14.0 |
| 1923–24 | … | 5,161,000 | 251,318 | +53.0 | 5,412,000 | +3.3 |
| 1924–25 | … | 6,088,000 | 361,873 | +14.0 | 6,450,000 | +19.2 |
| 1925–26 | … | 6,250,000' | 444,628 | +22.9 | 6,695,000 | +3.8 |
| 1926–27* | … | 4,960,000 | 368,948 | -17.0 | 5,329,000 | -20.4 |
| * The figures relating to the year 1927 are provisional. |
§ III.
§ In the following STATEMENT, the average values per lb. of the imports of raw cotton into Great Britain and Northern Ireland (during the years 1924–27) which were consigned from the principal sources of supply within the Empire are compared with the corresponding values of the imports from the United States and Egypt.
| — | United States of America. | Egypt. | Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. | British East Indies. | Uganda Protectorate. | ||
| Pence per lb. | Pence per lb. | Pence per lb. | Pence per lb. | Pence per lb. | |||
| 1924 | … | … | 17.0 | 22.0 | 22.7 | 14.7 | 18.2 |
| 1925 | … | … | 14.0 | 22.5 | 27.7 | 12.5 | 17.7 |
| 1926 | … | … | 10.2 | 15.5 | 17.3 | 9.6 | 13.2 |
| 1927 | … | … | 8.7 | 13.5 | 15.5 | 8.4 | 12.4 |