§ 5. Mr. Fallonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what were the totals of cereal exports to third countries in the 12 months to June 1984.
§ Mr. MacGregorIn the year ending June 1984 the United Kingdom exported 1 million tonnes of wheat and 1.2 million tonnes of barley to third countries. In addition, some of the grain exported to other Community member states will then have been exported outside the Community.
§ Mr. FallonIs my hon. Friend satisfied with the present level of export credit guarantees? Does he agree that there is a need to take all possible steps to get the grain out of intervention—out of the huge stores—and into the hands of those who want to purchase it at reasonable prices?
§ Mr. MacGregorOf course we wish to export as much as we can. We have had great success with our exports this year. There has been a doubling of wheat exports, and a near-doubling in barley exports, not just to third countries, but overall. Of course, there is still a considerable way to go. Most of the wheat comes not from intervention but direct from the open market, because open market prices are lower than intervention prices.
My hon. Friend will have welcomed the Government's announcement on 3 December of improved arrangements specifically for export credits for cereals. However, we have to take account of the wider economic considerations applying to the Export Credits Guarantee Department. I would have expected my hon. Friend strongly to support me on this. He must remember that a large proportion of our exports goes to countries which pay in cash and do not want credit.
§ Mr. BellinghamIs my hon. Friend aware that many grain merchants cannot get export credits for the lucrative grain markets of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco in north Africa, where we are losing out badly to the French?
§ Mr. MacGregorBearing in mind the constraints imposed by, for instance, the credit-worthiness of the countries concerned, we have improved the export credit arrangements for such markets.
§ Mr. JohnWill the Minister recognise that it is better for grain to be used usefully, at whatever price, than to rot in stores? How much of the 12 million tonnes currently in intervention will be used, and how much of it will simply rot?
§ Mr. MacGregorI entirely agree that the grain should be used. We have substantial surpluses this year and we are fighting in world export markets, where there is also a surplus. The hon. Gentleman should recognise that there are considerable quantities of grain which we must still export or dispose of in other ways but which are not in intervention. All of that points to the correctness of our policies directed at trying to get overall support prices down. I am sure that we have the hon. Gentleman's support in that, as it would enable more consumers to use the product.
§ 6. Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the current level of imports of cereal substitutes into the United Kingdom from third countries.
§ Mr. MacGregorUnited Kingdom imports from third countries of the products generally referred to as cereal substitutes totalled just under 700,000 tonnes for the period January to September 1984.
§ Mr. HowellCan my hon. Friend list the principal cereal substitutes which are imported and give some idea of the price at which they enter the United Kingdom and the European Community, as paid by the compounder? Will he consider bringing them into a levy system so that they come within the cereal regime?
§ Mr. MacGregorI have the list in front of me. The principal ones are perhaps manioc and maize gluten feed, followed by brewing and distilling dregs and citrus fruit waste. It would probably be better if my hon. Friend tabled a detailed question on that matter and on prices so that I can ensure that full information is given. As to further methods of controlling imports of substitutes, we must consider our livestock producers who would find feedstuffs expensive without the impact of cheaper imports on feed compounders. Technically, we sometimes need those imports for feed compounds. We must also have regard to the dangers of incurring further trade wars in Third world markets.
§ Mr. DeakinsWill the Minister do his best to ensure that we do not do anything like putting a levy on cereal substitutes imported into the EEC, as most of them come from Third world countries which have already been hard hit by other agricultural export practices of the EEC? That is one way in which we can do our best to help them.
§ Mr. MacGregorWe have resisted, and will continue to resist, pressure for such controls. However, the hon. Gentleman will know that we have had to agree to engage in discussions with the United States, whence many substitutes come, on maize gluten feed. We believe that it is right to resist the overall approach of heavily controlling imports.
Mr. Andy StewartIn view of my hon. Friend's answer, is there not a case for the ingredients to be listed on the compounds which are sold to farmers?
§ Mr. MacGregorAnswering off the top of my head, I suspect that it would be extremely difficult to do that, as feed compounders vary the mixtures substantially. I am not sure that such lists would be useful information for many people who buy the feed compounds. It is important to stress that, as part of the policy aimed at getting a better balance between cereals and livestock, we should not over-restrict the capacity of the livestock sector to get its feed compounds cheaply.