§ 25. Mr. Yorkasked the President of the Board of Trade on what basis the recent increased prices of timber in the round were calculated; and what factors were taken into account.
§ Sir S. CrippsI assume that the hon. Member is referring to standing timber in this country. Since the previous prices were fixed seven years ago, the prices of other materials have risen substantially, as have the costs of maintenance of woods and of replanting. In the absence of detailed costings, the matter had to be dealt with on broad lines, and an increase of 25 per cent. was considered to be fair.
§ Mr. YorkBut what about the evidence produced to the right hon. and learned Gentleman that the cost of production had increased by 40 per cent.? Did he not take that into account when fixing the increased prices?
§ Sir S. CrippsCertainly, Sir, but we had a lot of evidence of a differing character, and we took it all into account.