HC Deb 29 April 1970 vol 800 cc1233-4
15. Sir A. V. Harvey

asked the President of the Board of Trade why Great Britain is not backing the Malta Trade Fair this year.

40. Mr. Wall

asked the President of the Board of Trade why Great Britain is not participating in the Malta Trade Fair in July.

Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody

British goods will be displayed at the fair. There will, however, be no collective British participation supported by the Board of Trade as there has been no call this year for such support from British exporters.

Sir A. V. Harvey

How does the Minister account for the fact that 14 other countries are exhibiting there, even including Eastern European countries? Why do the Government have a built-in prejudice against Malta, rubbing salt into the wounds? If we are giving aid and grants on the one hand, we should get what trade we can with this small, loyal member of the Commonwealth.

Mrs. Dunwoody

I must reject any suggestion of any kind of prejudice against the island of Malta. The present Government have in particular undertaken to find assistance for the Maltese shipyards. There has not been Board of Trade support for our exporters at the fair since 1967. It is a question of people asking for us to assist them to go to particular markets, and they have not done so on this occasion.

Sir G. de Freitas

Will not the Government offer support even though it has not been demanded, not only to promote our own trade but also in view of the need to help Malta, this member of the Commonwealth and the Council of Europe, to develop herself as a trade centre for Southern Europe and the Mediterranean?

Mrs. Dunwoody

I cannot offer to undertake services which people do not require. In exporting we must increasingly have a professional attitude. Industrialists themselves prefer to go to specialised trade fairs and not general fairs, of which the Malta Trade Fair is an example.