§ 9. Sir David Priceasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what effect the access agreement for New Zealand butter over the next five years agreed at the Council of Agriculture Ministers on 18 and 19 June will have on British dairy producers' milk quotas.
§ Mr. MacGregorThe agreement in principle on imports of New Zealand butter is quite separate from the new arrangements for milk quotas. The quotas for milk were based on delivery and sales levels in member states and there is no specific provision for them to be adjusted to reflect changes in import levels.
§ Sir David PriceI thank my hon. Friend for that reply. May I take it that we can reassure our farmers that the new New Zealand arrangements are not being taken by the EEC against the British quota for milk, something which is widely believed among farmers?
§ Mr. MacGregorI assure my hon. Friend that, in the negotiations on the milk quotas, that point did not arise, and I do not see why it should have done. As I say, the milk quotas were assessed on a totally different basis.
§ Mr. GouldIs one of the more unfortunate consequences of the mess into which the Minister and his predecessors have plunged the dairy industry likely to be that the long-standing support of the British Government, based on self-interest and fair play, for continued access for New Zealand butter may come under attack? May we have an assurance that the Minister will resist such pressures?
§ Mr. MacGregorThe best answer that I can give to that supplementary question is that previous Ministers have had to negotiate the New Zealand butter situation on a year-by-year basis. This year we have provisional approval for what is a five-year agreement, although only the first three years have specific quantities. The New Zealand Government have greatly welcomed that position, and it is an indication that the situation that the hon. Gentleman describes has not arisen and will not arise in the immediate future.
§ Mr. ForthWhile I thank my hon. Friend for that statement, may I ask him to acknowledge that a continuing supply of competitive and high quality products from New Zealand will always be a salutary basis of comparison against which the efficiency of European agriculture can be measured?
§ Mr. MacGregorI believe that the House in general feels that it is right that we should continue to give this support to New Zealand, not least because since 1973 the New Zealand butter quota has been almost halved, and therefore New Zealand has faced, in terms of the United Kingdom, much bigger cuts than have our producers.