HC Deb 26 June 1973 vol 858 cc304-5W
Mr. Brocklebank-Fowler

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his latest estimate of the cost of sanctions on Rhodesia since 1965 in terms of cost, British exports to, and investment in, Rhodesia.

Lord Balniel

The latest estimate of the direct cost of sanctions to the Exchequer from UDI to 31st March 1973 was about £49 million; in the last financial year it was approximately £3 million.

In 1965 United Kingdom exports to Rhodesia were valued at £31.4 million and they have since become negligible. With such a long gap in normal trading I cannot estimate what the level of exports might have been had controls not been introduced.

The most recent figures of the value of British investments in Rhodesia show that at the end of 1968 the book value of net assets was £81.1 million. These figures exclude oil, insurance and banking investments. Estimates suggest that by 1971 the value might have increased to around £100 million.