§ Mr. Linsteadasked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the high prices now charged for the limited amount of greaseproof paper now available for the grocery and provision trade, he will take action to bring down the price by increasing supplies of the paper or providing an effective substitute.
Mr. H. WilsonThe high price of greaseproof paper is mainly due to the greatly increased cost of woodpulp, coupled with heavy world demand for the limited supplies available. The possible substitutes for it are vegetable parchment, imitation parchment and glazed transparent paper. Home production of these papers, as well as of greaseproof, during 1950 was at about the pre-war level and is practically at full capacity, while imports are on open general licence from the principal soft currency sources. There is little, therefore, that can be done in the short-term to increase supplies.