HC Deb 14 November 1957 vol 577 cc1139-40
45. Mr. H. Wilson

asked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement about his discussions with the Prime Minister of the Sudan about the disposal of the Sudan cotton crop.

The Prime Minister (Mr. Harold Macmillan)

I would refer the right hon. Gentleman to the Answer which I gave to the hon. Gentleman the Member for Eton and Slough (Mr. Brockway) on Tuesday.

Mr. Wilson

While recognising the difficulty presented by the high price which the Sudanese are asking, may I ask whether the Prime Minister will bear in mind that especially in that part of the world the failure to buy a staple crop creates a vacuum into which other countries are only too anxious to rush? There is always a danger that mischief will be created in the Middle East by other countries buying this crop for purely political purposes.

The Prime Minister

It is for that reason that we are having these close negotiations with the Prime Minister of the Sudan.