§ Mr. Nobleasked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) what was the level of imports of silk goods from Hong Kong in 1974, 1975 and 1976; and what is his forecast for 1977:
(2) what is his forecast for imports of silk goods from Hong Kong during 1978.
§ Mr. MeacherImports of silk clothing were not separately distinguished in the overseas trade statistics before 1976, and only a few items can be identified from then. Following is the available information on United Kingdom imports of silk goods from Hong Kong:
1976 Year 1977 January to September £000 cif Silk fabrics 43 65 Silk dresses 23 15 Silk blouses 148 242 Silk scarves etc 37 22 Silk bed-jackets, slip-overs etc. — 37 Total of above 251 381 Note: Imports of silk fabrics from Hong Kong in 1974 and 1975 were valued at £16,000 and £11,000 respectively.
It is not possible to forecast the value of such imports for the rest of 1977 or for 1978.