§ 90. Mr. T. Reidasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what are the Ceylon 82W export duties on tea, copra, coconut oil and desiccated coconut from which the Ceylon Government hopes to get an annual revenue of about 125,000,000 rupees; and what quantities of these products are usually imported by Britain.
Mr. Creech JonesThe export duties to which my hon. Friend refers are those imposed as from 27th January of this year, and are of the following amounts:
- Tea, 35 cents per lb.
- Copra, 10 rupees per cwt.
- Coconut oil, 16 rupees 25 cents per cwt.
- Desiccated coconut, 12 rupees per 100 lb.
About 150 million lb. of tea are imported annually into the United Kingdom from Ceylon. Copra imports over the past four years have ranged between 17,000 and 52,000 tons, and of coconut oil between 4,000 and 10,000 tons. Annual imports of desiccated coconut in recent years have not exceeded 2,000 tons.