less than demand on home production of woven cotton cloth perhaps
protected to some extent by the continuing trend from increasingly
expensive cotton to man-made fibres. The situation on this front is
therefore at present somewhat different from that on imports of woven
cotton textiles (although some new problems for the future are
anticipated in the next section of this submission).
7. A further factor affecting the woven cloth industry is the trend
towards greater use of knitted fabrics, which has proceeded at a
faster rate over the past few years than was forecast in the Textile
Council's Report. There has been a marked rise in imports of knitted
fabrics and knitted garments this year. The trend towards greater
use of knitted fabrics and garments is, however, one which reflects
developments in technology and consumer demand, it is one against which
the Lancashire weaving industry cannot be protected without affecting
the UK's competitiveness in the more advanced sectors of the industry.
Indeed any protection designed to reduce this swing would distort the
growth pattern of our textile industry as a whole.
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8. Imports of cotton and spun mmf yarn have increased in 1971 but they
still represent only 8.6% of estimated consumption of spun yarns.
Concern in the spinning industry is therefore linked more to the trends
in home production in the weaving industry than to a particular problem
on yarn imports. From time to time complaints are made about the prices
of imported spun yarns, but so far these have been insufficiently
substantiated to warrant an anti-dumping investigation.
9. To sum up, the industry is suffering from a substantial decrease in
home demand on production of woven cloth, particularly cotton cloth,
which has accompanied a substantial increase in imports. Some increase
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