§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current rate of exploitation of phosphates on Ocean Island; and how this compares with the rate of extraction in 1973, 1974 and 1975.
§ Mr. RowlandsThe rate of shipment of Ocean Island phosphate for the present phosphate year ending 30th June 1976 is 450,000 tonnes. Shipments for the previous three years were as follows
July 1972-June 1973 607,499 tonnes; July 1973-June 1974 610,489 tonnes; July 1974-June 1975 596,262 tonnes.