HC Deb 19 June 1978 vol 952 cc20-2
15. Mr. Edwin Wainwright

asked the Secretary of State for Trade, in view of the fact that regardless of the shortage of up-to-date farming machinery, including tractors, in many parts of the world, especially the developing and under-developed nations, there has been a decline in the export of tractors from the United Kingdom, if he will make a statement on the action he is taking to help the industry to reverse the present declining trend of these exports.

Mr. Meacher

I am aware of the problems of the tractor manufacturers and, through the services provided by ECGD and the BOTB, my Department is giving the agricultural engineering industry all practicable help to maintain and develop its exports.

Mr. Wainwright

Is my hon. Friend quite satisfied that our marketing techniques are as good as they should be? Is he aware that tractors are demanded in nations of the Third world which are short of the wherewithal to produce food? We have surplus tractors. Cannot something be done to ease credit facilities to make sure that these machines can be put to good use?

Mr. Meacher

The BOTB provides very substantial aid there. Over the past two years, for example, the BOTB has helped to sponsor 14 selling missions overseas and to bring two missions of overseas buyers interested in agricultural machinery to the United Kingdom. As for credit terms, the ECGD is able to provide cover for agricultural machinery exports on credit terms up to five years in a wide range of export markets. If my hon. Friend is concerned about one or two specific markets, I suggest that he should get in touch with me.

Mr. Richard Wainwright

Bearing in mind that many kinds of tractors made in this country have lives overseas in excess of five years, will the Minister see what the ECGD can do to lengthen the terms of this credit in order to correspond with the realities of the lives of the machines?

Mr. Meacher

The terms offered by the ECGD are laid down by the Washington Consensus on Credit Terms, to which all the main OECD countries contribute.

Mr. Parkinson

Will the Minister confirm that one reason why our exports have declined is that one of our major manufacturers had a prolonged and very damaging strike which resulted in the loss of a large number of vehicles? Will the hon. Gentleman point out to his hon. Friend the Member for Dearne Valley (Mr. Wainwright) that, if we are not prepared to meet demand, other people will?

Mr. Meacher

It is true that delivery is a very important part of export performance and that non-price competitiveness is an extremely important part of export achievement. But it is also true that companies at home have to sort out their industrial relations to ensure that they have the capacity to deliver on time.