§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) if he will show the change in exports of finished manufactures in the latest three months to the EEC and to the rest of the world compared with 1992;
(2) what is his estimate of the increase in relative unit values for United Kingdom exports of manufacturers to EEC and non-EEC countries since the third quarter of 1992;
(3) what was the volume of imports and exports of finished manufactures from and to (a) the EEC and (b) non-EEC countries in the three months to August 1994;
(4) what is his estimate of the increase in relative unit values for United Kingdom exports of manufactures to European Economic Community and non-European Economic Community countries since the third quarter of 1992.
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§ Mr. NeedhamThe information can be obtained from the Central Statistical Office's central shared database, access to which is available in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will show the balance of trade in manufactures as a percentage of GDP in(a) 1970, (b) 1977, (c) 1979 and (d) 1993, together with the corresponding change since the second half of 1973 in (i) the terms of trade finished manufactures and (ii) relative unit values for exports of manufactures.
§ Mr. NeedhamThe balance of trade in manufactures was(a) 6 per cent. of GDP in 1970, (b) 5 per cent. in 1977, (c) 2 per cent. in 1979 and (d) minus 1 per cent.—a trade deficit—in 1993.
From 1973 to 1993, the terms of trade index for finished manufactures increased by 45 per cent. Relative unit values for exports are not available on a consistent basis prior to 1975. However, the latest data available show that, from 1975 to the third quarter of 1993, (i) the terms of trade index for finished manufactures increased by 29 per cent. and (ii) the relative unit value for exports of manufactures increased by 10 per cent.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the change between the latest quarter for which figures are available and the corresponding quarter of 1992 in the volume of exports and manufactures in(a) Germany, (b) the United States of America, (c) France, (d) Italy, (e) Spain, (f) the Netherlands and (g) the United Kingdom in relation to (i) EEC and (ii) non-EEC countries.
§ Mr. NeedhamThe information relating to the UK is regularly published by the Central Statistical Office in the "Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. Corresponding figures for Germany, the United Stales of America, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands is not readily available and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what has been the average United Kingdom share of the volume of exports of manufactures by the main manufacturing countries since 1986; and what was the average from 1970 to 1977.
§ Mr. NeedhamThe average of the UK's share by volume of Main Manufacturing Countries' exports of manufactures for 1986 to 1991, the latest year for which data are available, was 8.2 per cent.; the corresponding figure for 1970 to 1977 was 9.9 per cent.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what effect the increase in United Kingdom relative import and export values since February 1993 has had on the volume of imports of finished manufactures since 1992.
§ Mr. NeedhamInformation on relative import unit values is not available, so the effect cannot be assessed.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the relative profitability of the import-competing and export industries and other manufacturing industries since 1977.
§ Mr. NeedhamI refer the hon. Gentleman to my answer given to him on 20 December,Official Report, columns 1034–35.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will show the average annual158W increase in manufacturing productivity in the 21 years since 1973 in the United Kingdom and each EEC country.
§ Mr. NeedhamThe information, where available, is given in the table. Comparable information for other EU countries could only be produced at disproportionate cost.
Annual average increase in manufacturing labour productivity 1 1973—1993 per cent. per annum France 2.1 Germany 1.7 Italy 2.3 United Kingdom 3.0 Nederlands 3.2 Ireland 6.3 Greece 1.2 Note: 1 Manufacturing production dividend by manufacturing employment. Source:
OECD Main Economic Indicators
Central Statistical Office.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the change in imports of finished manufactures from the EEC in June to August 1994 compared with 1992 and the corresponding change in the terms of trade for trade with the EEC in finished manufactures.
§ Mr. NeedhamThe information can be obtained from the Central Statistical Office's central shared database, access to which is available in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade in which years since 1970 the United Kingdom share of exports by the main manufacturing countries, by value, has been lower than in 1992; and if he will provide corresponding figures by volume.
§ Mr. NeedhamDuring the 23 years since 1970 the United Kingdom share by value of exports by the main manufacturing countries has been lower than in 1992 in the years 1974, 1986 and 1993. Comparable figures by volume are not readily available and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.