§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will give details of the export subsidy for textiles operated by the Indian Government; and what is the amount of any subsidy.
§ Mr. MeacherI understand the Government of India pay cash grants to exporters of certain products including man-made fibre, silk and cotton textiles to compensate for manufacturing disadvantages such as the high cost of materials, the small scale of production and certain local taxes which cannot be refunded on exports. On textiles they are believed to amount to between 10 per cent. and 17½ per cent. of the fob value.