§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing United Kingdom imports and exports of machine-made carpets and carpet tiles from and to (a) other European Economic Community countries and (b) the rest of the world each year since 1970, together with the production figures for 1973 and for the latest year for which figures are available in the case of Germany, France, Belgium and Holland.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkThe available information is in the following tables.
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United Kingdom trade in machine-made carpets* and carpet tiles £ million OTS basis European community† Rest of world Exports Imports Exports Imports 1970 13 7 26 13 1971 15 9 28 13 1972 18 12 34 16 1973 29 16 49 25 1974 36 19 64 26 1975 42 24 52 25 1976 64 33 80 36 1977 82 41 94 44 1978 81 54 87 59 1979 78 63 81 77 1980 70 73 73 88 1981 58 107 62 73 1982 54 122 65 58
European community† Rest of world Exports Imports Exports Imports 1983 55 142 76 76 1984 58 175 92 81 1985 61 193 112 80 * Standard International Trade Classification Headings 659.2 to 659.6 less 659.63. † Excluding Spain and Portugal. Source: United Kingdom Overseas Trade Statistics.
Production of carpets Million sq metres 1973 1982 United Kingdom* 162.6 126.0 Germany 179.5 137.8 France 41.2 46.5 Belgium† 112.6 213.4 Netherlands 48.7 58.6 * Manufacturers' sales. † Metric tonnes. Source: UN Industrial Statistics Yearbook 1982.