§ 93. Mr. T. Reidasked the Minister of Food what has been the average selling price of Ceylon tea recently at the open tea auctions in Colombo; and to what extent the price exceeded the price at 171W which Ceylon tea was sold in Ceylon in 1946.
§ Dr. SummerskillOn 31st March, the latest date for which complete figures are available, the average price of tea at the Colombo auctions was 172 cents per lb. ex sale, which with the addition of export duty and other costs represents about 3s. 3½d. per lb. F.O.B. This is Is. 4¼d. more than the average F.O.B. price paid last year when the whole of the Ceylon crop was bought by the Ministry of Food under I.E.F.C. arrangements.