To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give the end uses of methanol for the most recent year for which figures are available and the number of United Kingdom manufacturers.

ICI is the only company which manufactures methanol in the United Kingdom.The main use for methanol is as a feedstock for the production of a wide range of other chemicals.The majority of methanol consumed in the United Kingdom is used in the production of formaldehyde (a component of melamine resin), methyl tert butyl ether (an octane enhancer for unleaded fuel), acetic acid, chloromethanes, methyl methacrylate (a resin), and methylamines (solvents and photographic developers).