asked the Secretary of State for Trade how much of the total value of wool, synthetic and other textiles imported into Great Britain in 1974 came from Eastern European countries, which do not have to meet conventional commercial criteria.

As I indicated in my reply to the hon. Member's Question of 27th January, the total value c.i.f. of United Kingdom imports of textiles in January-November 1974 was £697,698,000, of which £13,021,000 was from Eastern bloc and Warsaw Pact countries. Of the latter figure all but £4,000 came from Eastern European countries, the difference being attributable to Mongolia and Cuba.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what has been the value of wool and textiles, including synthetic fibres, imported in the current year; how this compares with average annual figures for the last five years and 10 years, respectively; and if he will express these figures as a percentage of total consumption.

The value of imports was as follows:

	£ million c.i.f.
	Raw Wool	Textiles
Average of 10 years 1965–1974	101	337
Average of 5 years 1970–1974	97	464
1974	115	750

The estimated share of the United Kingdom market taken by imports of textiles in recent years was:

	Per cent.
1968	13
1970	13
1971	16
1972	17
1973	20
1974 (1st half)	24

Estimates for years before 1968 and for 1969 are not available.The share of the United Kingdom consumption of raw wool taken by imports in terms of value is not available. In terms of quantity—clean weight equivalent—it was:

	Per cent.
Average of 10 years 1964–1973	92
Average of 5 years 1969–1973	89
1974 (1st three quarters)	76