A
2
first six months of 1968 they were 65,411,000 lb., worth £24,505,000.
Sales of cotton cloth to overseas markets in the half-year were almost identical with those in the same period of 1968. Shipments totalled 76,185,000 yards against 76,171,000 yards but their value was over £1 million up at £14, 468,000 against £13,350,000 Further progress' was made in exporting man-made fibre fabrics which reached 42,597,000 yards valued at £11,839,000 against 37,311,000 yards, earning £9,543,000 in the comparative period of 1968.
The value of knitted fabrics sent abroad in the first six months of 1969 increased from £4,675,000 to £8,564,000 while earnings from clothing shipments were €10 million up at £42,469,000 against £32,402,000.
Arrivals Cost Less.
Meanwhile, imports of all types of woven cotton fabrics
in June at 46,145,000 yards were almost exactly in line with the monthly level for the half-year. In the six months arrivals totalled 276,755,000 yards, costing £29,787,000, compared with imports of 410,037,000 yards, valued at £37,745,000 in the same period last year.
In contrast, however, purchases of man-made fibre fabrics from abroad increased slightly from 75,557,000 yards, costing £16,699,000 to 79,313,000 yards, worth £17,711,000. Significantly too, in view of recent comments about the switch in emphasis by certain overseas suppliers, the cost of imports of knitted fabrics in the half-year rose from £3,185,000 to £4,242,000 and arrivals of clothing were valued at £62,898,000 against £53,844,000.
·
Cotton yarn and thread imports continued to rise at
21,155,000 lb., worth £5,063,000 against 17,951,000 lb., costing £4,205,000. The major development in purchases of foreign man-made fibre yarn and thread also persisted, with imports not far short of double last year's level at 55,301,000 lb. against 30,840,000 lb. The cost of these arrivals was £23,470,000 against £12,745,000.
Brunt Falls on India.
Main factor in the cotton grey cloth import situation has been the marked reduction in arrivals from India, which have fallen in the half-year from 125,207,000 yards to 51,259,000 yards. Hong Kong too has taken a cut from 55,533,000 yards to 36,411,000 yards, but the other chief Commonwealth supplier Pakistan has suffered less, sending 31,114,000 yards against 34,285,000 yards. In cotton finished fabrics Hong Kong, although remaining the chief supplier with 12,377,000 yards, has seen a drop from 17,935,000 yards, while India's shipments have fallen from 9,574,000 yards to 6,607,000 yards.
Despite the overall increase in imports of man-made fibre fabrics, certain European countries sent smaller quantities to Britain, but a notable exception was Switzerland where purchases have been raised from 4,953,000 yards to 7,014,000 yards. The other significant increase has been from Commonwealth countries as a whole, whose exports to the U.K. have advanced from 3,881,000 yards to 7,670,000 yards.
Austria remains the chief individual supplier, although shipments were fractionally lower at 12,468,000 yards against 12,761,000 yards.
On the export side South Africa remained the biggest market for cotton goods, taking 10,025,000 yards against 9108,000 yards. Other main outlets were Congo (Kinshasa) 9,901,000 yards against 7,779,000 yards and the Irish Republic 9,572,000 yards against 8,734,000 yards. Most of the rise in shipments of man-made fibre fabrics was accounted for by undesignated foreign countries, whose takings were nearly doubled at 10,557,000 yards.