26. Mr. Gresham Cookeasked the President of the Board of Trade whether, with a view to encouraging exports, he will consider producing a Board of Trade overseas export journal, containing information and advertisements 1282 relating to current British products, for distribution by consular offices overseas.
§ Mr. MaudlingThe requirements of export publicity vary too greatly from country to country, not least as regards language, and from product to product, and the range of products exported by British industry is too wide, for a Government publication of this kind to be practicable, but I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for his suggestion. [Laughter.]
Mr. Gresham CookeWhile thanking my right hon. Friend for that reply, and while acknowledging that there are some highly specialised and very excellent export journals, may I ask whether it might not be helpful to some of the smaller firms which cannot afford a large advertising campaign in foreign countries to have a medium in the form of a Government magazine which they could use for advertising purposes?
§ Mr. MaudlingI think the difficulties that I have referred to are really insuperable. One is surprised that when one thanks hon. Members for making suggestions it is greeted by levity from the other side. I should have thought that in the matter of promoting exports there would have been a general desire to have put forward and received useful suggestions.