§ 70. Mr. Osborneasked the President of the Board of Trade why the index of the prices of British manufactured exports is 148 per cent. above pre-war, when the level of weekly wages is only 75 per cent. higher; and what steps does he propose to take to reduce prices, and so enable British goods to be sold abroad.
§ Mr. H. WilsonLabour costs are not the only element in the costs of production; nor are changes in weekly wage rates an index of changes in labour cost per unit of production. The cost of imported raw materials has increased far more than wage rates. Furthermore costs are increased by delays and difficulties in production due to shortage of imported raw materials, or of home produced goods where the capacity is inadequate to meet requirements. It is however an essential part of the general policy of His Majesty's Government to create conditions in which costs and prices, in general, will fall, or at the least will not rise further. In pursuing this policy they have in mind, especially, the needs of the export trade in those products where our prices are, or may become, a hindrance to sales.