§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, further to his reply dated 20 June, Official Report, column 174, concerning the profitability of exports, what has been the effect of the increase in profitability on the United Kingdom share of world trade in manufactures since 1973 to 1976 and on the United Kingdom share of the United Kingdom market for comparable goods.
§ Mr. FletcherThe United Kingdom share of both the home market and of world trade have declined in recent years, as have these shares for other comparable countries. It is not possible to separate the effect of profitability of exports from other factors such as competitiveness in design, delivery performance and reliability.