§ Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) how many tonnes of coal have been imported from (a) 480W China, (b) Morocco, (c) Sweden and (d) the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to the nearest available date in 1983;
(2) what is the average value of a tonne of coal imported into the United Kingdom from (a) China, (b) Morocco, (c) Sweden and (d) the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
§ Mr. Giles ShawWith respect to the first nine months of 1983 the information requested is as follows:
Volume (000 tonnes) Average value, cif (£ per tonne) China 5 104 Morocco 12 86 Sweden 1 89 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 16 78 Most of the coal imported from the countries listed was anthracite. The value of the coal was therefore high by the general standards of coal trade. The NCB produced one million tonnes of anthracite in the same period but has insufficient economically workable reserves to meet United Kingdom demand for anthracite in full.