§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the destinations of United Kingdom coal exports during the past three years and the average price obtained per annum.
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§ Mr. John MooreThe information for 1979 and 1980 was published in table 93 of the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics, 1981; a copy is available in the Library of the House. Complete information for 1981 is not yet available; over the months January-February and September-December 1981 the average value per tonne of all coal exports was £32.25 (fob). The destinations on a "country-whence-consigned" basis for the same period of 1981 are given below, excluding those consigned less than 500 tonnes.
List of destinations of United Kingdom coal exports
- Albania
- Austria
- Belgium and Luxembourg
- Brazil
- Denmark
- Egypt
- Federal Republic of Germany
- Finland
- France
- Irish Republic
- Israel
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Portugal
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will indicate the level of coal imports into the United Kingdom (a) by public corporations and (b) by the private sector in each of the past three years; and if he will identify the tonnage State corporations are currently under contract to purchase.
§ Mr. John MooreMy Department estimates that coal imports by the private and public sectors have been as follows:
United Kingdom Coal Imports 1979* 1980* 1981† (million tonnes) Private sector 0.3 0.3 0.4 Public sector 4.1 7.0 4.0 4.4 7.3 4.4 Sources: * H.M. Customs and Excise. † Department of Energy. Details of individual purchase contracts are matters for the public corporations concerned. I have asked the chairmen of the Central Electricity Generating Board and the British Steel Corporation to write direct to the hon. Member.
§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the average price of export sales of coal and import purchases during the most recent 12 months for which figures are available.
§ Mr. John MooreThe most recent continuous period for which figures are available is for the 9 months from September 1981 to May 1982. During this period, the average value per tonne of all coal exports was £33.43 (fob) and of all coal imports was £43.19 (cif).
§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will set out in tabular form the volume of coal imports by European Economic Community countries during the past two years.
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§ Mr. John MooreThe information is given in the following table:
Coal Imports by EEC countries, 1980 and 1981 million tonnes 1980 1981 Federal Republic of Germany 9.3 10.8 France 29.5 27.5 Italy 16.8 18.2 Netherlands 6.5 6.9 Belgium 10.2 10.1 Luxembourg 0.4 0.3 United Kingdom 7.3 4.4 Ireland 1.2 1.3 Denmark 9.9 10.7 Greece 0.5 0.1 Total 91.6 90.3 Source: For countries other than the United Kingdom:
EUROSTAT COAL MONTHLY BULLETIN 6—1982
For the United Kingdom: 1980—Her Majesty Customs and Excise 1981 Department of Energy estimates.
§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will indicate the annual subsidy required to maintain coal stocks at current levels.
§ Mr. John MoorePithead stocks of coal represent a substantial financial burden on the coal industry. The NCB tells me that the cost, per annum, of maintaining coal stocks at the present level of almost 25 million tonnes, is approximately £125 million in interest at current rates.
§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) in view of the existence of surplus coal mining capacity and the consequent cost to the taxpayer and the electricity consumer, if he will relate the size of Government investment in the coal mining industry to the size of the market for coal;
(2) whether he will make it his policy to reduce his capital investment in the National Coal Board unless its policy of subsidising uneconomic pits by more efficient operations is reversed.
§ Mr. John MooreBoth the NCB and the Government take full account of market prospects in settling the board's capital investment programme. The aim of the board's capital investment—as of its other policies—must be to restore the whole industry to economic viability within a reasonable period.