§ 17. Mr. Granvilleasked the Minister of Food if he will state the total amount paid in direct or indirect subsidy to the British sugar beet industry.
§ Mr. WebbThe amounts vary from year to year. The direct subsidy for the last year for which figures are available,204W namely, the financial year 1949–50, was £4,502,462. In addition, the industry receives the benefit of an indirect subsidy, represented by the difference between the Excise Duty rate on home-produced sugar and the Import Duty rates. During 1949–50 all the sugar imported for consumption in the United Kingdom was imported from Commonwealth sources at preferential rates. The difference in that year between the Excise Duty and the Preferential Import Duties would be about £500,000; the difference between the Excise Duty and the full Import Duties would be about £3 million.