§ 49. Mr. Marplesasked the Minister of Food whether he will now consider granting an immediate increase in the sugar ration while there are sufficient stocks of this commodity in the country.
§ Mr. StracheyI would refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 26th April to the hon. Member for North Croydon (Mr. F. Harris). We cannot afford the138W dollars for additional supplies and our stocks are only sufficient to maintain the present rate of distribution.
§ Mr. Lipsonasked the Minister of Food how much sugar he has released from August 1947, to date for export and for re-export, respectively; and to what extent our hard currency problem has benefited thereby.
§ Mr. StracheyThe quantity of sugar exported from the United Kingdom from the 1st September, 1947, to the end of April, 1948, was 308,668 tons. Of this, 106,833 tons were shipped to the Colonies and other sterling area destinations, to minimise dollar expenditure by those countries, and 201,835 tons to other countries. There were no re-exports, as the raw sugar imported for the export trade is processed and exported as refined sugar. The extent to which our hard currency position has benefited by these sales, cannot at present be stated precisely, but the contribution is a most valuable one.