§ 49. Mr. John E. B. Hillasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the average producer prices of cereals in the European Economic Community and Great Britain.
§ Mr. Anthony StodartUnited Kingdom prices in 1969–70 were 29s. per cwt. for wheat, 26s. for barley and 27s. 10d. for oats. Comparable prices in the European Economic Community vary between member countries. In 1969–70, the range was from 44s. 8d. to 35s. 11d. per cwt. for wheat, 39s. 2d. to 30s. 7d. for barley and 37s. 9d. to 32s. 4d. for oats.
§ 50. Mr. John E. B. Hillasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the average producer prices of sugar beet in the European Economic Community and Great Britain.
§ Mr. Anthony StodartAverage prices for beet in the European Economic Community are not available. The minimum price in the European Economic Community for beet within basic production quotas is £7 4s. per ton and the guaranteed price in the United Kingdom is £6 19s. per ton: but the terms of sale are different, and so the difference between these prices is much greater than the figures suggest.
§ 51. Mr. Foxasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what 86W safeguards for British agriculture have so far been obtained in the negotiations in Brussels; and what further safeguards are being sought.
§ Mr. PriorI would refer my hon. Friend to the speech I made in the debate in this House on 21st January.—[Vol. 809, c. 1317–34.]
§ 53. Mr. Farrasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement on the possibilities of British agricultural expansion in the event of Great Britain entering the European Economic Community.
§ 59. Sir Clive Bossomasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the effect on rewards for efficient British farmers of joining a Community of Ten as compared with the present position.
§ Mr. PriorI do not think it is possible at present to go further than the estimate of the possibilities of expansion given in the 1970 White Paper (Cmnd. 4289) United Kingdom agriculture as a whole, provided it is efficient, has nothing to fear from entry into the European Economic Community and in most sectors it has the possibility of a definite advance.
§ 64. Mr. John Wellsasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has made an assessment of how Great Britain's entry to the European Community would affect British horticulture.
§ Mr. PriorI consider the assessment in the 1967 White Paper "The Common Agricultural Policy of the European Economic Community" (Cmnd. 3274) remains broadly valid. How individual growers would be affected would obviously depend on many factors including their present viability, their ability to change production lines and their marketing methods as well as the actual transitional arrangements.
§ 66. Mr. Deakinsasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the intervention arrangements for pigs and pigmeat in the United Kingdom under the European Economic Community Common Agricultural Policy will include support buying.
§ Mr. Anthony StodartWe have said we are prepared to accept the basic structure of the common agricultural 87W policy which includes support buying of pigmeat in certain circumstances.
§ 67. Mr. Deakinsasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which organisation in the United Kingdom will be responsible for operating the intervention arrangements for pigs and pig-meat under the European Economic Community Common Agricultural Policy.
§ Mr. Anthony StodartNo decisions have yet been taken on what arrangements would be made for this if we joined the European Economic Community.
§ Mr. Peter Millsasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the current Annual Price Review arrangements would be maintained if Great Britain joins the European Economic Community.
§ Mr. Anthony StodartIt is too soon to say precisely what arrangements would be appropriate in an enlarged Community. The Community has agreed in the current negotiations that as a member we should still be able to hold our own annual review of agriculture in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Peter Millsasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a further statement on the effect of existing European Economic Community legislation on farming as far as British farmers and farmworkers are concerned if Great Britain joins the European Economic Community.
§ Mr. PriorI would refer my hon. Friend to the White Paper of 1967 (Cmnd. 3274) which assessed the effect of adopting the Community's common agricultural policy and to the White Paper of 1970 (Cmnd. 4289) which assessed the more general economic consequences of Britain's membership of the European Economic Community.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is now in a position to say when he will meet the Executive of the National Farmers Union to explain the British Government's policy on the subject of Great Britain's entry into the European Economic Community.
§ Mr. PriorI would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Leominster (Sir Clive Bossom).