asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the total quantity of coal produced and the quantity consumed in the nine months ending 30th March, 1943; the quantity in stock on that date; and the comparable figures for the corresponding period of 1941–42?
The total production of coal in the nine months ended 30th March, 1943, was 155,792,000 tons, compared with 156,233,000 tons in the same period of 1941–42, a difference of about 400,000 tons. It would not be in the public interest to give figures of inland requirements and foreign shipments separately, but the total of inland consumption plus overseas shipments, was 152,413,000 tons in the nine months ended March, 1943, against 156,543,000 tons in the corresponding period of 1942. I do not consider it advisable to give in public the figures of stocks held at different dates, but, thanks to the efforts which have been made and the exceptionally mild weather of the first two months of the year, the stock position is easier than it was this time last year.