§ 119. Mr. Osborneasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what additional financial assistance he is providing to the Colonial Territories that are suffering from the slump in commodity prices as a result of the ending of hostilities in Korea.
§ Mr. LytteltonThe recent fall in prices has not hit all Colonial Territories to the same extent. For example, cocoa and coffee prices have not fallen seriously and such arrangements as the Commonwealth Sugar Agreement have insulated Colonial producers from the effect of the fall in world prices. In many Colonies, too, price stabilisation funds have been built up, which will help to mitigate the effect of the fall upon the producers themselves and Colonial Governments will naturally draw on their reserves as far as possible before coming to Her Majesty's Government for assistance. It is only where emergency conditions are superimposed, as for example in the Federation of Malaya, that the question arises of immediate assistance by Her Majesty's Government. This is now being considered.