§ 78. Mr. Lennox-Boydasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimate of the amount of dollars earned by 127W the Colonial Empire in 1948; how this amount will be affected by devaluation; and what has been the effect of devaluation on prices of Colonial products sold to the dollar area and within the sterling area, respectively.
§ Mr. JayAbout 500 million dollars. I cannot yet say what the effect of devaluation on these earnings will turn out to be. In answer to the third part of the Question, since 18th September there has been on the whole a slight fall in dollar prices, but a rise in sterling prices, of those products that are also sold to the dollar area. Movements in prices are continuing, though they cannot all be attributed to devaluation.