HC Deb 22 March 1937 vol 321 cc2567-8W
Miss Wilkinson

asked the Minister of Agriculture what is the total tonnage of sugar produced as a result of the subsidy of £39,576,193; what has been the average price (wholesale) per ton of this sugar; and what would have been the cost if this amount of sugar had been purchased at world prices (ex duty).

Mr. W. S. Morrison

The total amount of sugar produced in the campaign years 1924–25 to 1936–37 was 2,207,442 tons of white sugar and 1,807,611 tons of raw sugar. In reply to the second and third parts of the question, I am only able to give, with some reserve, approximate figures. The average price of the sugar over the 13 years in question is estimated at £21 per ton for white sugar and £15 per ton for raw sugar, including Excise Duty. If the sugar had been purchased at world prices it is estimated that the cost would have been £36,000,000 (ex duty) on the assumption that the white sugar had been refined in this country.