§ Sir C. Rawsonasked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he can make any statement with regard to the export to the home market of lemons grown by British ex-officers and their widows in the River Settlement in South Africa; why oranges and grapefruit can be shipped to England, but lemons are usually either given away or allowed to rot; and, in view of the shortage of existing supplies, will he consider granting some benefit to the people concerned?
Marquess of HartingtonI presume that my hon. Friend refers to the Sundays River Settlement, which is an enterprise conducted by a private company. I have no detailed information as to the operations of the Settlement, but I understand that the bulk of the lemons produced in the Union of South Africa is disposed of within the Union. Lemons exported from the Union to the United Kingdom receive the benefit of a preference of 10 per cent. ad valorem over foreign lemons, and the South African export of this fruit, though still relatively small in bulk, has increased steadily during the last few years from 2,000 cwt. in 1930 to 25,000 cwt. last year.