§ Mr. John H. Osbornasked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the current rate of purchases of cutlery and flatware, including stainless steel, by 3W value, type and number of pieces to date in the current year; how much of this total is being imported and from which countries; and how the figures for the current year compare with each of the previous five years.
§ Mr. Clinton DavisAggregate information is shown in the following tables. More detailed information is published in Business Monitor PQ 392 and the Overseas Trade Statistics, copies of which are available in the House of Commons Library.
TABLE 1 Cutlery, spoons, forks and plated tableware* Home demand† Imports‡ £ million £ million 1973 59.2 16.5 1974 68.5 22.6 1975 72.5 24.1 1976 82.7 30.8 1977 (January to June§) 46.7 17.6 Notes:
* Principal products of Minimum List Heading 392 i.e. cutlery, spoons, forks and plated tableware (including safety razors and blades).
† Home demand is defined as manufacturers' sales (including estimates for sales by establishments with less than 25 employees) plus imports minus exports.
‡Valued cif.
§ Not seasonally adjusted.
TABLE 2 Leading suppliers of imports of cutlery, spoons, forks and plated tableware January—June 1977 Country Imports £ million (cif) Imports as a percentage of total imports Federal Republic of Germany 6.0 34 South Korea 1.8 11 USA 1.6 9 Netherlands 1.4 8 Japan 1.4 8 Hong Kong 1.1 6