Major BARNESasked the Prime Minister if he has any information of the surpluses of wheat and sugar available for export by Russia and the Central Powers; has the Government made any efforts to obtain some part of these surpluses for the benefit of the people of this country; if so, what has been the result of such efforts; and, if not, what steps, if any, do they propose to take in the matter?
§ The PRIME MINISTERA number of reports have been received to the effect that there is a considerable surplus of wheat available for export from Russia after all the needs of the Russian people have been satisfied But exact information is not yet available. His Majesty's Government have no information as to the amount of sugar available for export from Russia. It is anticipated that representatives of the Russian co-operative organisations will arrive in this country in the course of the next two or three weeks with a view to discussing the arrangements for the re-opening of trading with Russia. There is no surplus of wheat available for export from the Central Empires. With regard to sugar, it is understood that Germany has no surplus available for export at present, nor has Austria. Arrangements have been made for procuring small quantities of sugar from Poland, and, by agreement with the Allies, France is obtaining some supplies from Czecho-Slovakia.