§ Mr. Tilneyasked the President of the Board of Trade by how much the consumption of Oriental tobacco has increased in 1951 and in 1952, to the latest convenient date, compared with 1950; what are the respective figures for Greek tobacco and Turkish tobacco; and what steps Her Majesty's Government is taking, in order to save dollars and to stimulate trade with non-dollar members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, to increase the consumption of Oriental tobacco.
§ Mr. H. StraussIn 1951, tobacco and cigarette manufacturers used 898,000 lb. more Oriental tobacco than in 1950. In the nine months ended September, 1952, they used 382,000 lb. more than in the corresponding nine months of 1950. The respective changes for Greek and Turkish tobacco were as follows:
In 1951, as compared with 1950, there was an increase of 1,155,000 lb. in the use of Greek tobacco and a decrease of 332,000 lb. in the use of Turkish tobacco. For the first nine months of 1952, as compared with the first nine months of 1950, there was an increase of 312,000 lb. in the use of Greek tobacco and a decrease of 51,000 lb. in the use of Turkish tobacco. The import of dollar tobacco is restricted to the minimum, and that should encourage the use of other kinds of leaf; but no special steps are taken to encourage the use of Greek and Turkish tobacco in preference to tobacco from the sterling area.