§ 58 and 59. Mr. W. Fletcherasked the President of the Board of Trade (1) what amount of Egyptian cotton has been bought by the Raw Cotton Commission in 1948;
(2) what stocks of cotton were held in this country at the end of 1947; how many months' consumption this figure represented; and what purchases have been made in the last six months.
§ Mr. BelcherStocks of cotton in this country at the end of 1947 amounted to 331,000 tons representing between nine and ten months' consumption. It would not be in the public interest to disclose the volume of recent purchases, either from particular countries or in total.