§ 62. Mr. T. SMITHasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when he first received information of the speculative buying of pepper in an attempt to corner 951 the supplies; whether he gave any warning to His Majesty's representatives in the Colonies likely to be affected; and, if so, what was the nature of this warning?
§ 64 and 65. Mr. PALINGasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1) what is the approximate production of pepper within the British Empire; and what proportion, approximately, this hears to the world production:
(2) whether his attention has been called to the heavy accumulations of stocks of pepper as the result of the recent attempts made to corner that commodity; what effect the accumulation is likely to have on pepper growers within the Empire; and whether he has any proposals for safeguarding the interests of the pepper growers?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERExact figures of world production of pepper are not available. Figures for export are available, but appear to fluctuate considerably; in 1933 the exports from all producing countries amounted to approximately 54,000 tons. Of these about 3,000 tons came from British India and 3,400 from the Colonial Empire. Of the latter, 3,260 tons came from Sarawak, which is the only important producer in the Colonial Empire. I was not aware of the speculation which was going on in pepper; and I could not therefore give any warning to the Government of Sarawak. The present accumulation of stocks might obviously be expected to have a depressing effect on the price unless those stocks are strongly held. It is reported that arrangements are being made in the trade for the holding and orderly disposal of the stocks, and it does not appear that any Government action to safeguard the interests of Empire producers of pepper is called for.