§ Mr. Welshasked the Secretary of State for Trade what was the exact nature, tonnage and different categories of imports
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TABLE 1: QUANTITIES OF WOOD AND LUMBER IMPORTED FROM PORTUGAL SITC(R) Sub-Group 1973 1974 (tonnes) 1975 (tonnes) 1976 (tonnes) 1977 (tonnes) Fuel wood, wood waste, and wood charcoal. 241.1 and 2 1,470 tonnes 2,262 2,706 2,713 4,292 Wood in the rough, or roughly squared or half-squared (pulp-wood, sawlogs, veneer logs, pit-props, poles, piling, posts, etc.). 242.1–9 (3,900) piled cubic metres 2,636 349 341 8 Lumber sawn lengthwise, etc., of a thickness exceeding 5 mm; lumber planed, tongued, grooved, rebated, etc.; railway or tramway sleepers of wood. 243.1–3* (300,197) cubic metres 270,108 124,431 230,860 276,911 Wood sawn lengthwise, etc. of a thickness not exceeding 5 mm; veneer sheets and sheets for plywood. 631.1† (27,278) cubic metres 20,738 13,428 41,108 21,045 Plywood, blockboard, laminboard, battenboard, etc.; veneered panels and sheets; inlaid wood and wood marquetry; cellular wood panels (whether or not faced with base metal). 631.2 (1,454) cubic metres 177 16 5 554 "Improved" wood (in sheets, blocks, etc.); reconstituted wood (shavings, chips, sawdust, wood flour, etc., agglomerated with resins, etc., in sheets, blocks, etc.). 631.44 20,864 tonnes 8,674 10,441 14,718 10,989 Wood paving blocks; riven staves, etc.; hoopwood, split poles, piles, pickets, and stakes, etc.; chipwood; pulpwood; shavings (for manufacture of vinegar or clarification of liquids); roughly trimmed wooden sticks; drawn wood, match splints, and pegs or pins for footwear; wood wool and flour; wooden headings and mouldings, etc. 631.8 27 tonnes 19 22 52 58 Totals 304,614 151,393 289,797 313,857 * SITC(R) Item 243.21 is analysed in Table 2. † SITC(R) Sub-Group 631.1 and 631.4 are analysed in Table 3. of Portuguese timber into the United Kingdom in each year over the past five years, showing in particular, the quantities of fencing timber and palletboards; and what effect he estimates the 1977 figures have had on home trade price structures.
§ Mr. MeacherDetails of timber and relevant articles of wood imported from Portugal are given in the tables below. Fencing timber is not separately distinguished in the Overseas Trade Statistics, and palletboards are identifiable only to a limited extent. Imports of timber from Portugal are only among a number of factors influencing domestic prices and no precise estimate of their effect can be given.
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TABLE 2: ANALYSIS OF SITC(R) ITEM 243.21 Lumber sawn lengthwise, etc., of a thickness exceeding 5 mm; coniferous 1973 (cubic metres) 1974 (tonnes) 1975 (tonnes) 1976 (tonnes) 1977 (tonnes) Boxboards (of any conifer) (19,325) 12,505 5,024 6,795 ‡ Feather-edged boards (of any conifer) ‡ — — 11 ‡ European redwood (Pinus sylvestris) (1,453) 14,672 — 3,289 7,098 European whitewood (Abies alba/Picea abies) (1,897) 954 36 478 175 Mixed consignments of European redwood and whitewood (2,284) 4,853 — 50 603 Other (272,260) 235,131 118,671 218,980 268,675 Totals (297,219) 268,115 123,731 229,603 276,551 ‡ Not separately distinguished.
TABLE 3: ANALYSIS OF SITC(R) SUB-GROUPS 631.1 AND 631.4 631.1: Wood sawn lengthwise, etc., of a thickness not exceeding 5 mm; veneer sheets and sheets for plywood 1977 (tonnes) Small boards for the manufacture of pencils 59 Boxboards (coniferous) 5,538 Boxboards (non-coniferous) 265 Other (coniferous) (other than veneer sheets and sheets for plywood) 15,183 Total 21,045
631.4: "Improved" and reconstituted wood 1977 (tonnes) Wood chipboard: Surface treated with: Resin impregnated papers (e.g. melamine) 66 Other substances 1,635 Other: Unworked, or not further worked than sand-papered 5,240 Other 4,048 Total 10,989
TABLE 4: IMPORTS FROM PORTUGAL OF PALLETS, PACKING CASES, ETC. (EX SITC(R) 632.1 AND 632.89) Ex SITC(R) 1973 1974 (tonnes) 1975 (tonnes) 1976 (tonnes) 1977 (tonnes) Pallets of a kind used with fork lift trucks having two-tongue forks. 632.89 — 5 3 1 (36)§ Softwood boxboards not dovetailed, mortised, or tenoned at the ends (and not covered by 243.21, 243.22, 631.1 or 632.1). 632.89 (6) cubic metres — — 280 (109)§ Complete boxes, packing cases, boxes, crates, drums and similar packings: Unassembled and consisting of softwood boxboards not dove-tailed, mortised of tenoned at the ends. 632.1 (48,839) cubic metres 28,112 18,485 13,332 9,297 Wholly or partly of plywood, blockboard, laminboard, battenboard, etc. (including veneered wood panels and sheets). 631.1 ‡ — — 70 155 Other 632.1 323 tonnes 80 — 162 385 Totals 28,197 18,488 13,845 (9,982) ‡ Not separately distinguished. § January-June only: not separately distinguished subsequently.