§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will circulate a table in the Official Report 135W giving as much detail as possible to enable a comparison to be made between the unit value of imports of passenger cars from Germany, Italy and France with the unit value of exports from these
UNIT VALUES* OF PASSENGER MOTOR CARS (SITC(R2)781), 1979 £ sterling Federal Republic of Germany Italy France United Kingdom imports from specified country† 3,060 2,180 2,420 Specified country's exports to United Kingdom‡ 2,800 2,140 2,330 Specified country's exports to world other than United Kingdom‡ … … … … 2,900 2,010 2,160 Specified country's exports to world as a whole‡ 2,890 2,030 2,190 * Average value per car. † Source: Overseas Trade Statistics. ‡ Source: Eurostat Microfiche. Note: Differences in the figures as between United Kingdom imports and exports recorded by foreign countries will include differences in the method of compilation and valuation, and in timing. Differences as between, for example, exports to United Kingdom and to the world other than United Kingdom will include differences in the composition of trade.
§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary for Trade to what he ascribes the sharp increase in the unit value of imports and exports of passenger motor cars between July and September; and if he will circulate in the Official Report a table showing the increase in the unit value of imports each year since 1975 and in September 1980 in more detail to eliminate the substitution effect.
§ Mr. EyreThe increase—of 81 ½ per cent.—in the export unit value index for passenger motor cars between July and September 1980 reflected increases in the unit values for most types of car identified in the overseas trade statistics. For imports, the increase—of 2 per cent.—is not felt to be sharp given the inherent variability in the figures.
Because of the broadness of the classification of passenger motor cars in the overseas trade statistics, it is not possible to eliminate completely the effect of composition changes. However, work on attempting to improve the index continues.