§ Mr. REMERasked the Secretary for Mines if he is aware that while United Kingdom exports of coal for the nine months ending 30th September, 1931, fell from 41,700,000 tons in 1930 to 31,600,060 tons in 1931, in the same period German exports only fell from 18,000,000 tons to 17,300,000 tons, while Polish exports actually rose from 8,900,000 tons to 10,000,000 tons; and what the policy of the Government is to deal with this decline of the British coal industry?
§ Mr. ISAAC FOOTThe hon. Member's figures for the United Kingdom are not quite comparable with those quoted for Germany and Poland. Exactly com- 2095W parable figures are given below. I agree with his conclusion that our exports have fallen disproportionately, but the many factors contributing to this cannot be
Quantities of coal (including foreign bunkers; exported during the nine months ended September, 1930 and 1931. From. Statute tons, 1930. Average Declared Value (f.o.b.). Statute tons, 1931. Average Declared Value (f.o.b.). s. d. s. d. Great Britain: Exports … 41,769,000 6 9 31,629,000 16 2 Bunkers … 11,829,000 — 10,665,000 — Germany: Exports and bunkers … 18,052,000 20 7 17,280,000 18 7 Poland: Exports and bunkers … 8,863,000 12 6 9,825,000 11 10