§ 38. Mr. John Dugdaleasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what crops are purchased by the West African Produce Control Board; what profits have been made on transactions in each crop by this board during the past three years; and how far these profits have been devoted towards the subsidy of prices paid to West African producers.
§ The Secretary of State for the Colonies (Colonel Oliver Stanley)The West African Produce Control Board now purchases cocoa, groundnuts, palm oil and kernels, copra, benniseed and ginger. Of these all but cocoa are sold to the Ministry of Food or other buyer at the average estimated cost, and no question of profit arises. As regards cocoa, a report on the Board's cocoa operations and the financial results is in course of preparation, and I propose to lay it before Parliament. As my hon. Friend will recollect, Parliament will be invited at the proper time to vote a sum equivalent to any profits realised on the transactions of the Board either for return to the cocoa producers or for expenditure on objects of benefit to them.