§ Mr. ParryTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the trade figures between the United Kingdom and Cuba over the past five years for which figures are available.
§ Mr. Needham[holding answer 17 March 1994]: The United Kingdom continues to run a trade surplus with Cuba although total bilateral trade was significantly lower in 1993 than in 1992. This reflects the contraction of the Cuban economy following the loss of Cuba's subsidised trading arrangements with the Soviet Union and of the guaranteed markets for Cuba's exports in eastern Europe. The resulting shortage of foreign exchange has led to a significant drop in Cuba's import capacity during 1989–93.
Data on United Kingdom bilateral trade with Cuba are found in the Business Monitor MM20, available in the Library of the House.