asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will publish any evidence available to him which suggests that British industry, or any sector of British industry, is finding that export markets are more profitable than the home market or that their prices are becoming more competitive at home and abroad.

Some indication of possible trends in the relative profitability of home and export market is provided by relative movements in export prices and domestic prices. The following table sets out movements since 1970 in the export unit value index for manufactured goods as a percentage of the wholesale price index for home sales of manufactured goods, excluding food, drink and tobacco; 1970=100:

1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976
100·0	95·6	94·7	98·1	98·8	98·9	103·1

Recent Quarterly Movements
1976				1977
First quarter	Second quarter	Third quarter	Fourth quarter	First quarter	Second quarter	Third quarter
98·8	102·1	103·9	105·2	104·6	102·7	102·3

The table suggests that, after a steady rise through 1976, the relative profitability of export sales may have declined in the first three-quarters of this year, though the level is still considerably higher than the average since 1970.

1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976
100·0	102·2	102·6	94·1	93·1	96·5	94·9*

Recent Quarterly Movements
1976				1977
First quarter	Second quarter	Third quarter	Fourth quarter	First quarter
99·3*	94·4*	95·2*	90·4*	96·2*
* Provisional.

The figures suggest some loss of export price competitiveness between 1976 and the beginning of this year.