§ 14. Mr. Baldryasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the present cost to the European Economic Community of the storing and disposing of agricultural surpluses.
§ Mr. MacGregorThe 1987 Community budget provides for expenditure of 17,400 mecu— about £12,400 million — on the storage and disposal of agricultural products.
§ Mr. BaldryDoes my right hon. Friend agree that it is time that we started using resources to help farmers rather than simply wasting them on the storage and disposal of surpluses? Is it not time that we had a policy to reduce the Community budget and increase money for farmers?
§ Mr. MacGregorThere is no doubt that quite a bit of the support helps farm incomes. My hon. Friend will agree that when we talk about the unjustifiable element in the cost of the common agricultural policy we must remember that we are storing and disposing of surpluses on such a scale that it costs 50 per cent. of the community budget. That is why we want to bring it down.