§ Mr. J. E. B. Hillasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what Cuban sugar, black or any other colour, is stored on airfields in East Anglia; what arrangements are in force for storing, inspecting, turning over, distributing and processing sugar stored on airfields; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John HareSome raw sugar is held as part of our strategic stocks of food, but it would not be in the national interest to disclose the quantity. None of this raw sugar is from Cuba; it is all from the Commonwealth. Only a small part of the stock is held under tarpaulins in open storage on airfields in East Anglia or elsewhere. This has for nearly twenty years proved a satisfactory and economical alternative method of storage and raw sugar so stored has always been accepted by refiners.
The stocks are inspected regularly by my own officers and, in addition, a sugar trade expert reports on the condition of the sugar every six months to determine if turnover is necessary. When turnover is necessary the stocks are sold at the market price to refiners for refining in the normal way and fresh Commonwealth sugar is added to the strategic stocks.