§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the percentage increase for each of the 10 commodities whose prices have increased the most on the commodities markets since the pound left the exchange rate mechanism.
§ Mr. Nelson[holding answer 10 May 1993]: Of the 30 main commodities that make up The Economist all-items commodity price index, the 10 that have increased in price the most since the 15 September 1992 are shown in the table.
Commodity price rises: 15 September 1992 to 5 May 1993 (Per cent.) Commodity Dollar prices SDR prices Sterling prices Timber 90.1 93.0 126.9 Sisal 24.8 26.7 48.9 Sugar 22.3 24.2 46.0 Groundnut oil 17.9 19.7 40.7 Coffee 16.1 17.9 38.6 Beef 13.6 15.4 35.6 Soyabean meal 8.4 10.1 29.4 Lamb 7.9 9.6 28.8 Soyabean oil 6.2 7.8 26.7 Cotton 5.3 6.9 25.7 All-items 1.1 4.1 21.9 Source: The Economist