HC Deb 13 June 1995 vol 261 cc455-6W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what were the terms of trade for manufacturers in the three months to(a) February 1995, (b) February 1990 and (c) February 1976; and if he will include for each date the figure for (i) import penetration and (ii) the UK share of exports of manufactures by the main manufacturing countries. [27496]

Mr. Needham

The terms of trade for manufactures in the periods requested were(a) 100.3, (b) 99.3 and (c) 85.5 compared with a value of 100 for the base year, 1990. The remaining information is not available for the months specified. However, information on the UK share of exports by the main manufacturing companies and, up to mid-1989, on import penetration for manufactures, is available on a quarterly basis: both series can be obtained from the central shared database, access to which is available in the Library of the House.