§ Caroline FlintTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the competitiveness of British coal in (i) the European and (ii) the international market; and if he will make a statement. [89387]
§ Mr. BattleThe Government do not collect statistics on UK coal production costs. We understand that, on average, UK coal is produced at costs which are roughly a third of German production costs, and a quarter or less of Spanish costs. Unlike the German and Spanish coal industries, the UK coal industry receives no state aid.
Outside the European Union the picture is different. The delivered cost of UK deep-mined coal is currently reported to be around a quarter to a third higher than the delivered price of internationally traded coal, much of which also has a lower sulphur content than most British coal.
The competitiveness of the industry is not determined purely by its costs, but also depends on factors including location, security of supply and the precise characteristics of the coal required.
§ Caroline FlintTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to support and encourage the export of British coal. [89386]
§ Mr. BattleBritish Trade International, the new unified DTI/FCO operation, has lead responsibility within Government for trade promotion and development on behalf of British business and aims to help UK firms take full advantage of overseas business opportunities by providing support, information, advice and assistance throughout the exporting process.
The Government seek to ensure that there is an open and competitive market for coal and coal products across the EU, and to ensure that markets are not distorted by products which do not reflect their production and 340W transport costs. To this end we have encouraged the European Commission to take action against such marketing practices which are supported by unauthorised state aid where there is damage to the export prospects of British coal.