§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the value of medicine imports from eastern European countries in terms of finished products or bulk active ingredients.
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§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardDetailed statistics of United Kingdom imports are contained in the monthly and annual volumes of "Business Monitor—Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom", published by the Central Statistical Office; copies are available in the Library. Within that publication the country grouping of eastern Europe and USSR now comprises Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Albania and USSR. Before 1 January 1991 Yugoslavia appeared in the "Rest of Western Europe" grouping.
The figures required are shown under standard international trade classification (SITC) Division 54 "Medical and Pharmaceutical Products". The value of imports is recorded as follows:
£ 1 January 1990–31 December 1990 4,837,000 1 January 1991–31 May 1991 1,655,000 However, the phrase "bulk active ingredients" is not recognised within the structure of the nomenclature and statistics of trade in some chemicals which may be active ingredients in medicinal products will appear under other chemical divisions in the Overseas Trade Statistics.