asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the current rate of purchases of cutlery and flatware, including stainless steel, by value, type and number of pieces to date in the current year; how much of this total is being imported and from which countries; and how the figures for the current year compare with each of the previous five years.
Aggregate information is shown in the following tables. More detailed information is published in Business Monitor PQ 392 and the Overseas Trade Statistics, copies of which are available in the House of Commons Library.
TABLE 1 | ||
Cutlery, spoons, forks and plated tableware* | ||
Home demand† | Imports‡ | |
£ million | £ million | |
1973 | 59·2 | 16·5 |
1974 | 68·5 | 22·6 |
1975 | 72·5 | 24·1 |
1976 | 82·7 | 30·8 |
1977 (January to June§) | 46·7 | 17·6 |
Notes:
* Principal products of Minimum List Heading 392 i.e. cutlery, spoons, forks and plated tableware (including safety razors and blades).
† Home demand is defined as manufacturers' sales (including estimates for sales by establishments with less than 25 employees) plus imports minus exports.
‡Valued cif.
§ Not seasonally adjusted.
TABLE 2 | ||
Leading suppliers of imports of cutlery, spoons, forks and plated tableware
| ||
January—June 1977
| ||
Country
| Imports £ million (cif)
| Imports as a percentage of total imports
|
Federal Republic of Germany | 6·0 | 34 |
South Korea | 1·8 | 11 |
USA | 1·6 | 9 |
Netherlands | 1·4 | 8 |
Japan | 1·4 | 8 |
Hong Kong | 1·1 | 6 |