§ 1. Mr. David Marshallasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what, for each of the past four years for which figures are available, was the European Community entry price expressed as a percentage of the third country offer price for beef and butter, respectively, using the definitions and methods of calculation previously used by the European Community Commission.
§ The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. Peter Walker)With permission, Mr. Speaker, I will publish the information in the Official Report.
§ Mr. MarshallWill the Secretary of State confirm that, in the latest figures published by the EC, the offer price for beef was one half the EC price and the offer price for butter was one quarter the EC price? Will he also confirm that we are paying £3,000 million more per annum for food than we need to because of our membership of the EC?
§ Mr. WalkerThe logic of the hon. Gentleman's question is that he would destroy British agriculture in 462 order to buy cheaper goods. That is absurd. The latest figures for the years asked for by the hon. Gentleman show that there has been a decline in the difference between world and EC prices of butter and beef. However, if one starts using world prices they should be calculated on the basis of cheap food imports and the eradication of European agriculture.
§ Mr. DeakinsWhy has the Commission stopped publishing comparisons between offer and entry prices? Is it because it is aware of the burden of the CAP on the British economy—a burden which has not been compensated for by industrial benefits as was promised at the time of Britain's entry?
§ Mr. WalkerThe hon. Gentleman knows that the increase in the CAP budget under the Labour Government was dramatically greater than under this Government. When I took over, the agricultural proportion of the European budget was 80 per cent. It is now 60 per cent.
§ Following is the information:
| Entry price as a percentage of offer price | ||
| *Beef | †Butter | |
| 1978–79 | 199 | 403 |
| 1979–80 | 204 | 411 |
| 1980–81 | 188 | 283 |
| 1981–82 | 191 | 178 |
§ Notes: * Guide price as percentage of offer price (guide price—basic levy less duty) based on live animals.
§ † Threshold price as percentage of offer price (threshold price—levy).
§ Source: 1978–79 and 1979–80—Agricultural Situation in the Community 1980 Report.
§ 1980–81 and 1981–82—MAFF Estimates on similar basis as far as possible.