asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a statement showing the quantity and value of goods bought in bulk from overseas by various Government Departments during 1950, together with a statement of the respective deliveries.
(pursuant to the reply given by the then President of the Board of Trade [OFFICIAL REPORT, 3rd April, 1951; Vol. 486, c. 9] supplied the following information): During the year a number of items reverted to private trade, and for these the figures relate to Government purchases up to the date of reversion.
| RAW MATERIALS PURCHASED FROM OVERSEAS BY THE BOARD OF TRADE DURING 1950 | |||
| Material | Purchases | Arrivals† | |
| Tons '000 | Value (f.o.b.) £'000 | Tons '000 | |
| Timber | 3,343·3 | 50,142 | 3,356·6 |
| Raw Materials for Textiles* | 166·3 | 24,266 | 165·3 |
| Hides and Skins and Tanning Materials | 4·3 | 890 | 31·8 |
| Papermaking Materials | 392·2 | 7,976 | 392·2 |
| Materials for Fertilisers and for the manufacture of Sulphuric Acid | 2,426·0 | 16,533 | 2,449·3 |
| Miscellaneous | 2·7 | 287 | 2·9 |
| 6,334·8 | 100,094 | 6,398·1 | |
* Does not include raw cotton which is purchased by the Raw Cotton Commission. | |||
| † These figures include some items ordered previous to 1950. | |||
| METALS PURCHASED FROM OVERSEAS BY THE MINISTRY OF SUPPLY DURING 1950 | |||
| Material | Purchases | Arrivals† | |
| Tons '000 | Value (f.o.b.) £'000 | Tons '000 | |
| Aluminium | 142·7 | 15,360 | 142·0 |
| Chrome Ore | 86·0 | 560 | 81·7 |
| Copper (blister and electrolytic) | 302·0* | 46,634 | 295·1 |
| Lead | 126·0 | 11,635 | 171·9 |
| Zinc | 137·0 | 15,244 | 142·0 |
| Finished Steel | 319·1 | 11,262 | 210·5 |
| 1,112·8 | 100,695 | 1,043·2 | |
* Excludes tonnages returned from toll refining overseas of Ministry copper and copper alloy scrap as refined copper. | |||
| † These figures include some items ordered previous to 1950. | |||
| COMMODITIES PURCHASED FROM OVERSEAS BY THE MINISTRY OF FOOD DURING 1950 | |||
| Commodity | Purchases (a) | Arrivals* | |
| Tons '000 | Value (f.o.b.) £'000 | Tons '000 | |
| Fruit and vegetables (b) | 582 | 23,320 | 601 |
| Fish (c) | 34 | 9,610 | 30 |
| Meat and Bacon (d) | 1,142 | 143,363 | 1,133 |
| Tea, Coffee and Cocoa | 329 | 89,828 | 334 |
| Cereals, Pulses, Starch and Animal Feedingstuffs | 6,272 | 149,774 | 6,420 |
| Sugar and Glucose | 2,090 | 73,450 | 2,120 |
| Milk Products, Eggs and Oils and Fats | 2,567 | 252,813 | 2,586 |
| 13,016 | 742,158 | 13,224 | |
| NOTE:— | |||
| (a) Excludes purchases shipped direct for overseas consumption. | |||
| (b) Including canned fruit, dried fruit, edible nuts and fruit juices. | |||
| (c) Including canned fish. | |||
| (d) Including canned meat, poultry and rabbits. | |||
| The Ministry of Works have not bought from overseas during 1950. | |||
* These figures include some items ordered previous to 1950. | |||