69. Mr. Wileyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the cost of sugar purchased from Cuba, Commonwealth and domestic suppliers, the prices to be inclusive of all transport and other costs, and expressed per lb.
§ Mr. GodberA comparison of the cost of sugar from these three different sources of supply is best made at the first-hand selling point, that is, ex-refiners' premises. At the beginning of this week the list price of refined sugar at this point was approximately 6d. per lb. after eliminating the distribution payment from the Sugar Board, and this would be the current cost of foreign sugar at that point. My right hon. Friend is informed by the Sugar Board that it estimates that the comparable figure for Commonwealth sugar bought at the 1957 negotiated price would be about 7d. per lb. on current freight rates. The British Sugar Corporation has estimated that the equivalent figure for sugar produced from home-grown beet in the 1956–57 season would be about 6⅝d. per lb.