§ Sir R. Glynasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps are being taken to encourage the production of cotton within the British Commonwealth; what are the present quantities and grades obtained from the several Colonies and Protectorates; and what are the indications as a result of a survey as to the increase of yields that can be obtained in each case.
Mr. Creech JonesThe United Kingdom's imports of Colonial cotton at present come mainly from Uganda, Tanganyika, Nyasaland, Nigeria and the West Indies. Nigerian cotton is of a comparable staple length to American middling; Uganda cotton is mainly a substitute for Sudan G.L. and Egyptian; other East African cottons correspond to the longer American types; West Indian cotton is of the Sea Island variety which commands a special market. Detailed figures of United Kingdom imports, classified according to staple length, can be obtained from the accounts relating 17W to Trade and Navigation of the United Kingdom, copies of which are available in the Library of this House.
An account of the prospects for increasing production of cotton in the Colonial Empire is contained in the Interim Report of the Colonial Primary Products Committee which was published as Colonial Paper No. 217; steps are now being taken, in conjunction with the Board of Trade and the Raw Cotton Commission, to follow up the Committee's recommendations. It is not possible to say precisely what increase in yields will result in each case but plans are being discussed for doubling Nigerian production over the next three years.
The other main cotton-producing countries of the Commonwealth are India, Pakistan and the Sudan where I understand that cotton production is being given high priority. On the Indian Continent, I understand that the area under cotton is being increased to the maximum extent possible without encroaching upon the land required for food crops. Yields are also being raised by the extension of irrigation facilities, use of manure and improved seed. The proportion of the cotton acreage under improved varieties of seed increased from 19 per cent. in 1936–37 to 57 per cent. in 1944–45. In the Sudan, an extension of the Gezira Irrigation Scheme is being undertaken which will bring an additional 25,000 acres under cotton in 1951 with a production of about 10,000,000 lb. per year.