Mr. Rostron Duckworthasked the President of the Board of Trade the approximate amount of saccharin placed on the market in the last three months; and what has become of it since few shops have a supply?
§ Mr. MabaneI have been asked to reply. The wholesale distribution of saccharin tablets is not regulated by permit, and my Noble Friend has no information of the quantity of saccharin tablets placed on the market in the past three months. The amount of saccharin supplied to tablet manufacturers has, however, been sufficient to maintain a monthly distribution of about 700,000,000 tablets, or more than 25 times the pre-war distribution. There is no doubt a considerable unsatisfied demand for saccharin tablets, but as the raw material from which saccharin is made has other more essential uses it is not possible to contemplate any increase in production.