HC Deb 15 March 1948 vol 448 cc207-8W
Sir W. Smithers

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the amount of invisible exports for each of the years 1900 to date.

Sir S. Cripps

I give below such information as is readily available:

Net invisible exports, computed after calculating the merchandise trade deficit from records of imports (valued c.i.f.) and of exports (valued f.o.b.) were given in the Statistical Abstract for the United Kingdom (81st Number, Cmd. 5627, p. 438 and 83rd Number, Cmd. 6232, p. 434) as follows:

Year £ million
1913 … … … … 339
1923 … … … … 348
1924 … … … … 410
1925 … … … … 438
1926 … … … … 449
1927 … … … … 469
1928 … … … … 475
1929 … … … … 484
1930 … … … … 414
1931 … … … … 304
1932 … … … … 236
1933 … … … … 263
1934 … … … … 287
1935 … … … … 293
1936 … … … … 327
1937 … … … … 386
1938 … … … … 323

Figures of invisible exports given in Table 1 of Cmd. 7324 for 1938, 1946 and 1947 are calculated on a different basis, as described in Cmd. 7324, and they are not comparable with the figures given above.