HC Deb 04 March 1958 vol 583 cc115-6W
70. Mr. Sorensen

asked the President of the Board of Trade to what extent the importation of umbrellas from Hong Kong has varied during the last three years and our export of these goods to all markets has expanded; and how far the importation of umbrellas and similar articles has adversely affected British production.

Mr. Erroll

Statistics of the current production of umbrellas in this country are not available, but my information is that the industry is running smoothly at present. The following are the figures of imports from Hong Kong and United Kingdom total exports:

Year Imports from Hong Kong United Kingdom Exports to all countries
thousand dozen £'000 thousand dozen £'000
1955 39.1 68.4 17.1 162.3
1956 24.9 31.8 11.6 122.9
1957 32.9 45.2 7.6 88.3