MINUTES OF EVIDENCE 



TAKEN BEFORE 



THE ROYAL COMMISSION ON AGRICULTURE. 



ELEVENTH DAY. 

 TUESDAY, IGrn SEPTEMBER, 1919. 



PRESENT . 



SIR WILLIAM BARCLAY PEAT (Chairman). 



SIR WILLIAM JAMES ASHLEY. 



DR. . M. DOUGLAS, C.B. 



MR. G. G. REA, C.B.E. 



MR. W. ANKER SIMMONS, C.B.E. 



MR. HENRY OVERMAN, O.B.E 



ME. A. W. ASHBY. 



MR. A. BATCHELOR. 



MR. H. S. CAUTLEY, K.C., M.P. 



MB. GEORGE DALLAS. 



MR. J. F. DUNCAN. 



MR. W. EDWARDS. 



MR. F. E. GREEN. 

 MR. j. M. HENDERSON. 

 MR. T. HENDERSON. 

 MR. T. PROSSER JONES. 

 MR. E. W LANGFORD. 

 MR. R. V. LENNARD. 

 MB. GEORGE NICHOLLS. 

 MR. E. H. PARKER. 

 MR. R. R. ROBBINS. 

 Mu. W. R. SMITH, M.P. 

 MR. R. B. WALKER. 



Mr. R. J. THOMPSON, O.B.E., of tho Board of Agriculture and Fisheries (Commercial Department), called 



and examined. 



9051. Chairman: May I put in the memorandum of 



evidence-in-chief of Mr Lawrence Weaver. C.B.E., 



Commercial Secretary of the Board of Agriculture 



and Fisheries, which has been sent to us, and which 



I presume you will speak to? Yes. 



Evidence-in-chief handed in by witnett. 



PRESENT AND FUTURE PRICES OF AGRICULTURAL 

 REQUISITES. 



(1) Fertilisers. 



During the war fertilisers with the exception of 

 Bulphate of ammonia more than doubled in price, but 

 the increase would have been much greater if it had 

 not been for the control of prices, and for the direct 

 Government assistance afforded to the industry. In 

 1917 prices were agreed with the makers, and in 

 1918-19 they were formally fixed by the Fertiliser 

 Prices Order, 1918, and by the Compound Fertilisers 

 Order. These two Orders regulated the prices to be 

 charged for sulphate of ammonia, superphosphate, and 

 basic slag and compound manures, these being the 

 only manures which were available in any quantity 

 during that period. 



Nitrate of soda was used for explosives, and the 

 supply of this fertiliser was consequently much re- 

 stricted, and such small quantities as were available 

 Trere very high in price. Potash also was only avail- 

 able in comparatively insignificant quantities, though 

 by purchasing the total output and reselling for agri- 

 cultural purposes, the Government were able to keep 

 the prices of the home produced potash at a level very 

 much below what was being obtained for potash sold 

 for industrial purpose, viz., 3f> 13s 4d. per ton, SO 



(S6831-SO-16.) Wt. 38666-16. 2000. 11/1C. H. St. 0. S4. 



per cent, muriate, as compared with 58-60 for sales 

 in the open market. 



During 1918-19 the makers of both sulphate of am- 

 monia and superphosphate received subsidies from the 

 Government which enabled these two fertilisers to be 

 sold at less than the actual cost of production, but 

 these subsidies were discontinued as from tho 31tt 

 May, 1919, with the result that an increase in price 

 became necessary in order to cover cost of production. 



Comparative prices so far as they are available are 

 given in Table 1. 



It will be seen that the increase up to the spring of 

 1919, as compared with tho pre-war level (1912), was 

 15 per cent, in the case of sulphate of ammonia, 107 

 per cent, for superphosphate, 115 per cent, for bnsic 

 slag, 112 per cent, for nitrate of soda, and 90 per cent, 

 for potash. The prices which it is estimated will 

 rule next spring show a further increase except in 

 the ase of nitrate of soda, which will probably be 

 lower, and in the case of potash, in which there is 

 already a marked decline. 



A rough estimate of the sum spent in the United 

 Kingdom on the principal fertilisers shows that the 

 farmers' expenditure rose from nearly 5,000.000 in 

 1012, to nearly 11.000,000 in 1918-10, and will pro- 

 bably still further increase in 1919-30 to 13,800,000. 

 The whole of this increase is not, however, due to 

 rising prices, as the farmer is now making increased 

 n-e of these fertilisers. The average cost per ton of 

 fertiliser used which was 3 19s. in 1912, increased to 

 6 18s. 9d. in 1918-19, a rise of 76 per cent., while the 

 figure for 1919-20 is likely to be about 8 14s. 6d. per 

 ton, a rise of 121 per cent, as compared with 1012 

 This latter increase is due to the higher prices of 



At 



