Britain's Falling Share of Sterling Area Imports

Britain's poor export performance during the course of last year was the more surprising because, for the first time for a number of years, the change in the area pattern of world trade was not unfavourable to her. Sterling area countries take about 40 per cent of Britain's exports of manufactures, but only about 10 per cent of those of the other main exporters of manufactures. From 1954 to 1959 overseas sterling area imports rose more slowly than world imports, and Britain lost from this. But last year sterling area imports rose relatively fast, and Britain should have gained.The trouble was in 1960 that Britain's share in these imports fell much faster than before; she lost nearly 5 per cent of the market—this was more than twice as big a loss as the average from 1954 to 1959. This fall in share in 1960 was not big enough to stop Britain's exports of manufactures to the overseas sterling area from rising altogether; but it meant that they went up only 6 per cent in value, whereas those of her eight main competitors rose about 28 per cent.Charts 1 and 2 look at this matter in longer perspective. The main point of the charts is simply this : it is Britain's share in sterling area markets which has fallen steeply since 1954 : her share in non-sterling area markets had, until 1960, hardly changed.