HC Deb 28 January 1930 vol 234 cc840-1
34. Major CHURCH

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he can state the prices of home-grown and imported wheat in Great Britain, France and Germany?

Mr. W. GRAHAM

With my hon. Friend's permission, I propose to circulate a statement of these prices in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Following is the statement:

The following statement shows the published prices of home-grown and imported wheat in Great Britain, France and Germany in the week ended 11th January. I am, however, unable to say how closely the figures for the three countries are comparable:

Prices quoted converted into shillings per cwt.
s. d.
Home-grown Wheat:
English "Gazette Average" 9 7
Paris 11 3¾
Berlin 12 3¾
Imported Wheat:
The prices of imported wheat given below are exclusive of duty and other charges; the duties on wheat imported into France and Germany amount to 4s. 1¼d. per cwt. and 3s. 2¾d. per cwt., respectively, taking the exchanges at the par rates:
London price, Northern Manitoba wheat (No. 2 description), ex ship 12 3¾
Paris price, Manitoba wheat (No. 2 description), c.i.f., January shipments 12 5¼
Hamburg price, Manitoba wheat (No. 1 description), c.i.f., based on shipments afloat 12 7¼

44. Mr. LAMBERT

asked the President of the Board of Trade what was the price of wheat and the price of the four-pound loaf in January, 1914, and January, 1930, respectively; and what would be the cost of the four-pound loaf in 1930, presuming the cost of milling wheat and the baking and distribution of bread were the same as in 1913?

— Mid-Jan.* 1913. Mid-Jan. 1914. Mid-Jan. 1930.
s. d. s. d. s. d.
English wheat "Gazette Average" per cwt 7 1 7 3 9 7
Northern Manitoba Wheat (No. 2 description) ex ship, London (per 496 lbs.) 38 0 35 0 53 0
Argentine wheat (Rosafe) Spot, Liverpool (per 100 lbs.) 7 4 No quotation. 9 0½
4-lb loaf (average price for the United Kingdom) 0 5¾ 0 5¾ 0 9
* The date given in the original Notice of the question.

The increased cost of the four-pound loaf in 1930, assuming that the only difference as compared with 1913 was the increased cost of the wheat used, may, on the basis of the above figures, be estimated as between 1d. and 1½d.