§ Sir A. Bossomasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will confer with the railway authorities with a view to helping the sugar industry by arranging that all sugar beet should be carried on the same free-on-rail basis in the Southern Region as now applies to Scotland.
Mr. AmoryAlthough the cost of transport to the Scottish sugar beet factory is borne by the British Sugar Corporation and not by the grower, this is reflected in the lower price which the Corporation pays for beet to the grower. In England and Wales, on the other hand, a higher price is paid to the grower, but the grower bears the cost of rail transport to the factory up to a maximum of 15s. 3d. per ton. Freight charges in excess of this amount are borne by the Corporation. Growers in Southern England are the principal beneficiaries from this concession.