§ Mr. Manderasked the Minister of Economic Warfare whether he will make a statement regarding the supplies which formerly reached the enemy from Syria, Iraq and Persia, but which are now denied to him as the result of the British entry into those countries?
§ Mr. FootI have no evidence that any appreciable quantity of goods was reaching the enemy from Iraq before the entry of British troops. Exports from Persia and Syria to enemy and enemy-occupied countries consisted principally of raw cotton, wool and hair, citrus fruits and dried fruits, oilseeds, cereals, pulse and skins both tanned and untanned. The amount of such exports is not known with any accuracy, but they were certainly quite substantial. As a result of the German attack on Russia, and the occupation by British and Allied troops of the countries in question, all these supplies have, of course, been denied to the enemy.