asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which countries in the world are the major importers of British manufactured goods; and how this compares with the situation in 1974 and 1981, respectively.
In 1986 our top 10 markets for manufactures took 62 per cent. of our exports worth £34 billion. Figures for these and our chief markets in 1974 and 1981 are in the following table:
| United Kingdom exports of manufactured goods1 | |
| Rank and country | £ million |
| 1974 | |
| 1.United States of America | 1,474 |
| 2.Federal Republic of Germany | 798 |
| 3. Netherlands | 760 |
| 4.France | 757 |
| Major imports of manufactured goods 1979–1986 | ||||||||
| value: £ million | ||||||||
| SITC (R2) division | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 |
| 78. Road vehicles | 3,943·2 | 3,351·6 | 3,408·1 | 4,489·6 | 5,753·8 | 5,957·6 | 6,800·6 | 7,939·7 |
| 75. Office machines and automatic data processing equipment | 1,330·4 | 1,393·4 | 1,631·7 | 2,121·9 | 3,017·5 | 4,102·7 | 4,510·0 | 4,545·1 |
| 77. Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances nes and electrical parts thereof | 1,410·5 | 1,518·5 | 1,759·6 | 2,179·1 | 2,805·8 | 3,846·7 | 4,276·9 | 4,446·4 |
| 89. Miscellaneous manufactured articles nes | 1,551·0 | 1,691·3 | 2,043·8 | 2,224·9 | 2,655·5 | 3,238·7 | 3,420·9 | 3,998·9 |
| 65. Textile yarn, fabrics, make·up articles nes and related products | 1,691·1 | 1,543·7 | 1,761·6 | 1,927·6 | 2,320·2 | 2,705·4 | 3,032·0 | 3,162·6 |
| 74. General industrial machinery and equipment nes and machine parts | 1,351·6 | 1,414·7 | 1,394·9 | 1,634·4 | 1,845·2 | 2,249·9 | 2,603·9 | 2,755·4 |
| 64. Paper, paperboard and articles of paper pulp, of paper or of paperboard | 1,240·3 | 1,286·7 | 1,536·9 | 1,675·1 | 1,905·8 | 2,280·4 | 2,532·0 | 2,703·0 |
| 66. Non-metallic mineral manufactures nes | 1,889·4 | 1,938·0 | 1,443·4 | 1,520·3 | 2,085·4 | 2,269·3 | 2,242·6 | 2,661·7 |
| 76. Telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment | 796·5 | 823·6 | 1,291·4 | 1,586·2 | 1,915·9 | 1,848·3 | 2,130·6 | 2,402·3 |
| 84. Articles of apparel and clothing accessories | 1,194·1 | 1,230·7 | 1,438·4 | 1,500·0 | 1,601·3 | 2,011·7 | 2,090·1 | 2,386·7 |
| Major countries from which manufactured goods imported 1979–1986 | ||||||||
| value: £ millions | ||||||||
| 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | |
| Federal Republic of Germany | 5,286·9 | 5,134·6 | 5,314·7 | 6,723·3 | 8,869·4 | 9,978·8 | 11,589·3 | 13,082·2 |
| USA | 3,543·8 | 4,676·1 | 4,634·3 | 5,071·5 | 5,982·2 | 7,718·5 | 8,363·6 | 7,050·8 |
| France | 2,997·3 | 2,988·4 | 3,055·0 | 3,372·5 | 4,010·7 | 4,556·5 | 5,099·8 | 5,727·1 |
| Japan | 1,441·2 | 1,665·6 | 2,154·0 | 2,571·6 | 3,250·2 | 3,650·0 | 4,036·4 | 4,858·8 |
Rank and country
| £ million
|
| 5.Irish Republic | 558 |
| 6.Australia | 550 |
| 7. Belgium/Luxembourg | 551 |
| 8. Sweden | 541 |
| 9.South Africa | 477 |
| 10. Canada | 420 |
1981
| |
| 1. United States of America | 3,527 |
| 2. Federal Republic of Germany | 3,163 |
| 3. France | 2,460 |
| 4. Netherlands | 1,868 |
| 5. Irish Republic | 1,721 |
| 6. Belgium/Luxembourg | 1,557 |
| 7.Italy | 1,370 |
| 8. Nigeria | 1,293 |
| 9. Switzerland | 1,177 |
| 10. South Africa | 1,111 |
1986
| |
| 1. United States of America | 8,173 |
| 2. Federal Republic of Germany | 6,369 |
| 3. France | 4,216 |
| 4. Netherlands | 3,132 |
| 5. Belgium/Luxembourg | 3,043 |
| 6. Italy | 2,480 |
| 7. Irish Republic | 2,371 |
| 8. Sweden | 1,461 |
| 9. Switzerland | 1,425 |
| 10. Saudi Arabia | 1,221 |
1 Standard International Trade Classification Sections 5 to 8. | |
Source: United Kingdom Overseas Trade Statistics.
asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what are for each year since 1979, the United Kingdom's major imports of manufactured goods, and what are the 10 most important countries, from which such goods are imported in terms of volume, quantity and cost.
Information is available only in value terms and is given in the following tables:
1979
| 1980
| 1981
| 1982
| 1983
| 1984
| 1985
| 1986
| |
| Netherlands | 1,842·6 | 1,873·5 | 2,058·3 | 2,366·4 | 2,881·5 | 3,415·6 | 3,830·5 | 4,260·9 |
| Italy | 1,965·3 | 1,839·7 | 1,867·8 | 2,287·6 | 2,735·4 | 3,253·4 | 3,673·5 | 4,068·7 |
| Belgium/Luxembourg | 1,880·7 | 1,891·1 | 1,937·0 | 2,310·0 | 2,470·3 | 2,765·1 | 3,068·9 | 3,401·3 |
| Switzerland | 1,779·5 | 1,820·0 | 1,372·6 | 1,548·8 | 2,097·4 | 2,412·3 | 2,285·5 | 2,881·6 |
| Sweden | 1,269·8 | 1,161·8 | 1,170·1 | 1,260·9 | 1,495·4 | 1,802·3 | 1,994·5 | 2,313·1 |
| Irish Republic | 872·1 | 987·7 | 1,031·1 | 1,201·1 | 1,376·7 | 1,569·8 | 1,680·2 | 1,786·0 |
Source: Overseas Trade Statistics: Standard International Trade Classification Revision 2, Sections 5 to 8.
Note: 1986 figures provisional.