asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will give the totals, to the most convenient date, expressed in British currency, of the amounts expended in importing matches from Sweden and Belgium.

The c.i.f. value of imports of matches in the first six months of 1947 was £161,000 from Sweden and £231,000 from Belgium.

While I agree that these amounts are comparatively small, may I ask my right hon. and learned Friend if he is aware that if the production capacity of our home industry was fully employed, there would be no necessity for us to import any matches from abroad, in fact we could export matches?

That seems to follow from what the hon. Gentleman has said.