Chemicals

HC Deb 13 January 1988 vol 125 cc313-5W

44. Mr. Alan W. Williams

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster by how much the percentage of Britain's domestic market met by imports of chemicals changed between 1979 and June 1987; and what was the

Import Penetration in Chemicals1
	1979	1985	Import penetration	Percentage change
	Production	Imports	Exports	Production	Imports	Exports	1979	1985	1985/1979
	US$ billion	Per cent.	Per cent.	Per cent.
Australia	5.0	1.7	0.8	5.0	2.1	1.4	29	37	28
Austria	3.6	2.1	1.4	4.0	2.2	1.7	49	49	—
Belgium/Luxembourg	8.7	5.7	7.2	7.2	6.1	7.7	79	109	38
Canada	8.4	3.5	3.2	12.9	5.0	4.5	40	38	-6
Denmark	1.7	1.8	1.0	1.8	2.0	1.4	72	85	17
Finland	1.9	1.2	0.6	2.7	1.4	0.8	47	42	-11
France	32.7	10.6	12.4	31.3	11.6	14.4	34	41	18
Germany	54.5	13.3	23.5	46.6	15.2	25.5	30	42	39
Greece	1.1	0.8	0.2	0.9	0.9	0.2	46	56	21
Ireland	0.8	1.2	0.9	0.8	1.2	1.5	110	258	134
Italy	20.2	7.6	6.2	23.5	9.2	7.1	35	36	2
Japan	67.4	5.3	7.2	88.5	8.2	9.5	8	9	16
Netherlands	12.9	6.1	10.7	11.7	6.9	11.7	74	100	36
New Zealand	0.7	0.7	0.1	0.8	0.9	0.2	53	60	13
Norway	1.8	1.2	0.9	2.0	1.3	1.1	59	60	1
Portugal	0.7	0.9	0.2	0.8	0.8	0.4	61	69	13
Spain	7.5	2.7	1.4	6.9	2.7	2.1	31	37	19
Sweden	4.1	2.7	1.5	4.0	2.9	2.0	51	59	15
United States	144.2	8.9	20.2	222.7	17.0	22.0	7	8	16
United Kingdom	34.5	8.0	10.9	29.4	9.8	12.9	25	37	47
Total OECD2	412.4	85.9	110.6	503.5	107.5	128.2	22	22	1
Notes:
1 International Industrial Classification Major Groups 351 and 352.
2 Excluding Iceland, Switzerland and Turkey.

— Value less than half the final digit shown.

comparable figure in the average, best and worst performing Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development country.

Mr. Atkins

Information on OECD countries' import penetration in chemicals is in the table:

Overseas trade figures include imports for re-export and exports for re-import. For a number of countries this entrepot trade is substantial and import penetration ratios are distorted.

Source: OECD.