§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) if he will specify the leading items of trade with Brazil in the past year; and whether there have been any discernible trends over the past decade;
(2) how many British companies are trading with Brazil; and what percentage of the total is undertaken by (a) large companies, (b) medium-sized firms and (c) small enterprises;
(3) what is the value of trade undertaken by United Kingdom State corporations with Brazil in the last year for which figures are available.
§ Mr. MeacherThe leading items in 1975 were as follows:
350W
Exports £ million fob Non-electric machinery 62.6 Chemicals 29.6 Metals 22.2 Transport equipment 11.6 Electrical machinery 10.2 Other goods 24.7 Total 160.9
Imports £ million cif Coffee, tea, cocoa and spices 35.6 Sugar and sugar preparations 30.9 Metalliferous ores 26.2 Wood, lumber and cork 10.7 Meat and meat preparations 10.1 Oil seeds and oil nuts 8.6 Tobacco 7.9 Other goods 44.9 Total 174.9 Trade has risen very considerably since 1966 when exports were valued at £17.1 million fob and imports £31.5 million cif. The rise in machinery exports is particularly noticeable, as are the increases in the values of imports of sugar, coffee and iron ore.
I regret that information is not available in respect of trade with Brazil by United Kingdom companies of different size ranges or State corporations.