Cement

Gordon Banks

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what tonnage of bagged ordinary portland cement was imported into the UK in each quarter of each year since 2004; [R] (142998)

(2) what tonnage of bulk ordinary portland cement was imported into the UK in each quarter of each year since 2004. [R]

Figures are not available separately for bagged and bulk portland cement. HM Revenue and Customs Overseas Trade Statistics give the following figures for imports of portland cement, whether or not coloured, in thousand tonnes.

*Imports of portland cement*
	Quarter	Weight (thousand tonnes)
2004	Q1	413
	Q2	546
	Q3	604
	Q4	458

2005	Q1	509
	Q2	403
	Q3	376
	Q4	289

2006	Q1	357
	Q2	375
	Q3	325
	Q4	340
Source: Overseas Trade Statistics.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what tonnage of bagged cement (with additives) was (a) produced in the UK and (b) imported into the UK in each quarter of each year since 2004; (142999)

(2) what tonnage of ordinary Portland cement was produced in the UK in each quarter of each year since 2004.

The Office for National Statistics publishes annual figures for Product Sales and Trade: Cement (PRA 26510). Combining the figures for white and grey Portland cement gives the following volume data in million tonnes.

*Tonnes (million)*
	UK manufacturer sales	Total exports	Total imports	UK net supply
2004	12.2	0.2	2.0	14.0
2005	12.1	0.3	1.6	13.3
2006	11.2	0.6	1.4	12.1

Volume 461: debated on Friday 15 June 2007