§ Brigadier-General CROFTasked the Food Controller whether his attention has been called to the fact that under the present controlled price the Government are paying 10½d. to Ceylon growers for tea, and that precisely the same tea for which this price is paid is being sold in London for 1s. 10???d.; and whether, if these 2121W facts are correct, he will take steps to reduce this very large profit which is accruing to his Department at the expense of the consumer?
Mr. ROBERTSThe price of tea is not controlled at present, and the balance of Government purchases is now being sold without reserve. The contract price paid by the Government was based on the average price of the whole crop during the years preceding the contract. The price realised by the Government in public sale must consequently be taken on the average, and while some teas are being sold at a considerable profit, others show a substantial loss. Steps are taken meanwhile to release sufficient tea From month to month to supply the demand so as to secure that the market price remains at its proper economic level.