§ 12. Mr. Moonmanasked the Secretary of State for Industry what has been the balance of trade surplus-deficit figures from each of the growth sectors included in the industrial strategy planning.
§ Mr. CryerI shall arrange for the figures for the past three years to be published in the Official Report.
§ Mr. MoonmanWill my hon. Friend give due attention to the concern in one of the growth sectors, the computer industry, where management and specialists are worried about the lack of forward planning being shown by officials of his Department, and—perhaps more important—the fact that there seems to be no relationship between sector reports from one industry to another? If we are to have a total plan, does not this seem an obvious thing to do?
§ Mr. CryerI am grateful for my hon. Friend's comments, and I hope that when he sees the figures in Hansard he will accept that, in general—it is difficult to judge any specific sector in this context—the position in the first half of this year shows a slight growth and a slight improvement in the balance of trade position.
§ Following are the figures:
| TRADE BALANCE FOR INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY INDUSTRIES* Exports (fob) less imports (cif) |
|||
| £ million | |||
| 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | |
| Food and Drink Manufacturing | -1,609 | -1,615 | -1,599 |
| Organic Chemicals | 7 | 39 | 56 |
| Pharmaceuticals | 139 | 180 | 239 |
| Plastics Materials | 9 | -6 | 70 |
| Synthetic Rubber | 7 | 8 | -4 |
| Iron and Steel | 75 | -139 | -72 |
| Ferrous Foundries | |||
| Machine Tools | 18 | 11 | 59 |
| Pumps and Valves | † 87 | 104 | 155 |
| Fluid Power Equipment | |||
| Process Plant† | 62 | 80 | 138 |
| Industrial Engines | 90 | 77 | 124 |
| Textile Machinery | 76 | 103 | 142 |
| Construction Equipment | 116 | 170 | 310 |
| Mechanical Handling Equipment | 32 | 58 | 117 |
| Industrial Trucks | |||
| Office Machinery | -6 | 2 | 16 |
| Mining Machinery | 13 | 25 | 37 |
| Printing Machinery | 8 | 8 | 36 |
| Heating and Ventilating Equipment† | 3 | 6 | 11 |
| Food and Drink Processing, Packaging and Bottling Machinery | 3 | -2 | 44 |
| Constructional Steelwork | 28 | 30 | 47 |
| Bearings | 6 | -2 | 5 |
| Gears | 4 | 7 | 7 |
| Drop Forgings | 5 | 9 | 12 |
| Scientific Instruments† | 21 | 29 | 52 |
| Electronic Components | -80 | -69 | -23 |
| Computers | -54 | -82 | -54 |
| Radio, Radar and Electronic Capital Goods | 48 | 85 | 145 |
| Telecommunications Equipment | 33 | 28 | 33 |
| Electronic Consumer Goods | -223 | -157 | -94 |
| Heavy Electrical Machinery | 75 | 96 | 253 |
| Industrial Electrical Equipment | |||
| Domestic Electrical Appliances | -22 | -25 | -31 |
| Man-made Fibres | 78 | 85 | 73 |
| Wool Textiles | 146 | 157 | 141 |
| Hosiery and Knitwear | 8 | 7 | -15 |
| Clothing | -140 | -163 | -213 |
| Paper and Boards‡ | -501 | -841 | -738 |
| Rubber Manufactures | 71 | 91 | 139 |
| Total | -1,367 | -1,606 | -415 |
| * It is not possible, in all cases, to identify separately the products relevant to each industrial strategy sector in the Overseas Trade Statistics. Figures for some sectors are therefore presented as combined totals. No trade figures are available for the products of the non-ferrous foundries sector, but trade in these products is believed to be very small. | |||
| † Because it is not possible to identify exactly products of these industries in the Overseas Trade Statistics, these figures include trade in products of some sectors of industry which are not included in the industrial strategy exercise. | |||
| ‡ The balance for the paper and board industry is significantly affected by the inclusion of imports of pulp for paper making. |