§ 102. Mr. Sorensenasked the Minister of Materials from what sources we are now receiving woodpulp or paper; what are the main categories of allocation to home consumers; and in what quantitative proportions these are distributed.
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§ Sir A. SalterWoodpulp is imported mainly from Sweden, Finland, Norway and Canada. These countries, together with the Netherlands and the United States of America, are also our main sources of supply of imported paper and board. The total amount of currency available for the import of woodpulp for paper-making is shared among the paper and board mills in proportion to their actual consumption of woodpulp in either the second half of 1951 or the second half of 1952, whichever was the greater. Firms may use their quotas to import any type of woodpulp for paper-making and have complete freedom to choose their source of supply.
The currency available for the purchase of each type of paper and board (excluding newsprint) is shared between importers (who may not necessarily be the consumers) in proportion to their actual imports of paper and board in the period 31st December, 1950, to 3rd November, 1951, when imports were on open general licence. Separate quotas have been established for the principal types of paper and board, and dollar imports of some of these types are permitted within limits. Non-dollar quotas may be used to import from any country outside the dollar area; the dollar quotas may be exchanged, if the importer wishes, for quotas from nondollar countries.