HC Deb 20 April 1978 vol 948 cc651-4
6. Sir David Renton

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what arrangements have been made for the marketing of potatoes grown during the coming season.

Mr. Bishop

The Government are discussing with the interests concerned the best approach to marketing and support arrangements for the 1978 potato crop, and in particular are considering the new stabilisation and insurance system which the producers' organisations have suggested. In view of the uncertainties about the timing and content of an EEC regime for potatoes and the future of our import ban on main crop potatoes, my right hon. Friend does not expect to be able to announce a decision until the summer.

Sir D. Renton

Is the Minister aware that this is a most unsatisfactory situation? Is he further aware that it costs farmers nearly £600 an acre to produce a good crop of potatoes, and that uncertainty about whether they will be able to sell them, and at what price, may have a serious effect upon our home crop? Will he use all his persuasion to try to get the matter clarified and resolved before the summer, whenever he thinks the summer may be?

Mr. Bishop

I agree that the position is unsatisfactory. We are well aware of the situation. I have been made aware of it not least by the farmers in my constituency who are in touch with me. We recognise the real problems that they face. The right hon. and learned Gentleman will know that the Potato Marketing Board has already given some guidance to the industry on the 1978 crop, especially on the target acreage, to avoid a surplus. There is no doubt that Her Majesty's Government have pressed the Commission as hard as possible to try to achieve a resolution of the matter. The right hon. and learned Gentleman will appreciate that although we want early answers to the questions that we are facing, we want to get the right answers. That is important if producers are to have confidence to produce and, at the same time, consumers are to have reasonable prices.

Mr. John Ellis

Does my right hon. Friend remember the correspondence that I had with him recently on the problem of farmers pulling up potatoes that were not moved sufficiently fast and were found to be rotting in the bags? Will he explain to the House that that is the responsibility of the Potato Marketing Board? Has he drawn its attention to the problem, so that next year we shall not have any complaints from farmers such as those that I received?

Mr. Bishop

We are sensitive to the problem that my hon. Friend mentioned. That is why we are sensitive about the need to keep in perspective the uptake of the Potato Marketing Board.

Mr. Mills

Does the Minister realise that this Question is linked with the previous Question about "Food from Our Own Resources"? Why is that? It is because of the uncertainty that arises from the Government in not telling British agriculture what they really want. What do they want in food production? What do they want in marketing? The Government must stop this uncertainty and bring forward proposals.

Mr. Bishop

If the hon. Gentleman is fair, he will accept that the uncertainty is due entirely to the fact that the transitional stages in the EEC have not yet been resolved. We have been pressing hard for the resolution of these problems for the very reasons that he stated. We have said that the guarantee for the 1977 crop will be honoured. Guidelines have been laid down by the Potato Marketing Board. We are doing our best with the Community to resolve the situation as speedily as we can.

Mrs. Dunwoody

Will my right hon. Friend try to make it clear to Opposition Members that we have no choice and that the ambivalent attitude of the Commission towards the Potato Marketing Board is evidence that it does not want the Board to be reorganised in an orderly fashion? Will he also tell Opposition Members that it is putting a punitive tax on early potatoes from our traditional suppliers to make it impossible for the housewives to buy them at reasonable prices?

Mr. Bishop

My hon. Friend has certainly stated a few true factors in relation to this matter. I think that both she and the House will realise that the import ban that we have imposed on main crop potatoes is still in force and that the matter is still being looked at by the Commission and the European Court. Until that matter is resolved, we cannot say with certainty what the future will be.

Mr. Jopling

As the farmers who grow potatoes are emerging from a season in which their total returns have been more than 10 per cent. lower than the guaranteed price for the previous year, and as there is no price guarantee for the year to come and no firm idea of what the state of the market base will be, what does the right hon. Gentleman think will be the effect on lower plantings this year and the possibility of much higher prices for potatoes later in the year? Will he understand that the Opposition feel that the Government should have shown much more vigour in avoiding this very difficult situation?

Mr. Bishop

There is no lack of vigour on the part of the Government in pressing this matter. The reason for the uncertainty is entirely in the hands of the Community. With our present support arrangements, we have to balance the needs of the Market with the interests of the producers. We want to make sure that the producer gets a fair return, or he will not produce, and, if the price is too high, the consumer will not buy. Those two matters must be kept in focus. However, it is a matter for the Community, not for us.