§ 75 and 76. Mr. Parkerasked the President of the Board of Trade (1) whether he will give the figures for capital equipment, including steel, turbines, cement, industrial machinery, machine tools and railway equipment, that were exported in the first half of 1951 and the first half of 1950 to the receiving countries of Southern Asia that have joined the Colombo Plan;
(2) to what extent the British Government was able to meet orders for capital equipment from the receiving countries of Southern Asia who have joined the Colombo Plan in the first half of 1950 and 1951.
§ Mr. BottomleyThe countries in Southern Asia which, up to the present, have decided to participate in the Colombo Plan are Ceylon, India, Pakistan; the Associated States of Indo China; the Federation of Malaya, Singapore, British North Borneo, Brunei, and Sarawak.
The development schemes which make up the programmes of these countries 167W are being undertaken by many agencies, both Government and private. The capital goods required are ordered, like other requirements, through normal commercial channels and the United Kingdom Government, as such, are not called upon to meet these orders.
Our exports to these countries of goods included in Trade Groups III C, D, F, G and S, which are mainly capital goods, but include some consumer goods, in the first six months of 1950 and 1951 were respectively£60m. and£68m. These figures do not, of course, distinguish between capital goods required for Colombo Plan projects and those required for other purposes.