§ Mr. Hoyleasked the Secretary of State for Trade what proposals there are for the increase in the quota for yarn and cloth imports from Bangladesh.
§ Mr. MeacherThe United Kingdom's long-standing quota on cotton yarn from Bangladesh expired on 31st March 1977. Imports of this product, which are not giving rise to immediate concern, will now be closely monitored by surveillance licensing and should imports threaten to reach disruptive levels the reintroduction of a quota will be immediately considered for urgent action.
11WA basket quota, which includes woven cotton cloths and woven cotton garments and made-ups, has been set at 736,835 square metres for the remainder of 1977. If utilised solely for cotton cloth the quota would represent less than 0.2 per cent. of our total imports of this commodity during 1976, and if used for woven cotton garments and made-ups the percentage would be even smaller. This quota represents a growth of 6 per cent. on the previous year's quota which is in line with the minimum required under the Multifibre Arrangement.
§ Mr. Hoyleasked the Secretary of State for Trade, what have been the United Kingdom's imports of yarn and cloth, respectively, from Bangladesh annually since it became independent.
§ Mr. MeacherThere have been no imports to the United Kingdom of cotton fabric (SITC 652) in the years since independence for which statistics are available—since 1973; and only 45 metric tons of cotton yarn—in 1976. Imports of other cotton products, for which detailed statistics could be provided only at disproportionate cost, are very small.