§ Mr. J. M. MACDONALDasked the Secretary of State for India what is the current price in India of the sack of flour of 180 lbs.; what was its average price in the year before the War, and what was its price in the famines of 1896 and 1900, respectively?
§ Mr. FISHERThe wholesale price of wheat flour in the principal wheat-growing districts of India varied in the second half of January, 1919, from Rs.14.2 to Rs.17.9 per 180 lbs. Later figures are not available, but the price of wheat rose somewhat and is now falling again. The corresponding average figures for 1913 were Rs. 7.62 and Rs. 10.13; for 1900 they were Rs.7.51 and Rs. 8.82. In 1897 they were Rs. 8.8 and Rs. 11.37. The corresponding prices for 1896 cannot be stated without extensive research, but the famine period extended into 1897, and the average prices of wheat were substantially higher in that year than in 1896.