§ Mr. PERKINSasked the Secretary of State for India whether the British Government has still any control over the production or export of opium and its derivatives; whether he can state the acreage and yield of opium in India in the years 1920 and 1921, and the amount exported therefrom to various countries, and particularly to Hong Kong; and whether the amount exported to Hong Kong bears any relation to the legitimate medical requirements of the island?
§ Mr. MONTAGUThe answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the second part, the area under poppy cultivation in British India was 143,750 acres in 1920, producing 1,209,600 lbs. of raw opium. 843W The following amounts of raw opium were exported from British India in that year:
Lbs. Straits Settlements … 432,600 Dutch East Indies … 406,000 Siam … 238,000 British North Borneo … 24,640 Ceylon … 8,400 Japan … 126,000 Mauritius … 4,900 French Indo-China … 133,000 Hong Kong … 99,540 The amount exported to Hong Kong included the requirements of the Portuguese Colony of Macao. Figures are not yet available in respect of the year 1921. The third part of the question is a matter for the Colonial Office.