§ 15. Mr. Moateasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what agreement has been reached about beef prices in the EEC; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Anthony StodartNo agreement has yet been reached on the level of the 1974–75 guide price for beef.
§ 16. Mr. Goldingasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now state the increase in the price of the sub-group containing bread and cake since June 1970.
§ Mrs. FennerBetween 16th June 1970 and 11th December 1973, the latest date for which information is available, the
SAMPLE DEADWEIGHT CATTLE PRICES IN UNITED KINGDOM (p per lb.) January 1973 January 1974* Percentage Change Per cent. Steers … … … … 31.33 31.88 +1.8 Heifers … … … … 30.18 30.59 +1.4 * 3 weeks only. Prices quoted Kidney Knobs channel fat out. Source: MLC Weekly Market Survey.
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RETAIL PRICES OF SELECTED CUTS OF HOME-KILLED BEEF (p per lb.) January 1973 December 1973 Percentage Change Per cent. Chuck … 54.4 56.6 +4.0 Sirloin (without bone) … 75.3 79.1 +5.0 Silverside* (without bone) … 67.7 68.6 +1.3 Back Ribs* (with bone) … 49.6 51.3 +3.4 Fore Fibs (with bone) … 48.2 49.7 +3.1 Brisket (with bone) … 35.6 36.8 +3.4 Rump Steak* … 90.0 92.0 +2.2 sub-group of the Food Index covering bread, flour, cereals, biscuits and cakes rose by 46.5 per cent.
§ 19. Mr. Ewingasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the rise in the price of lentils during the latest convenient period; to what factors he attributes such a rise; and what action he proposes to take to deal with this situation.
§ Mrs. FennerDuring the 12 months ending 17th January 1974 the landed price of lentils has risen from £142 to £365 per ton, because world demand has outstripped available supplies. Since all our supplies of lentils are imported, their prices on first sale in the United Kingdom cannot be controlled, but I am satisfied that the price code provides adequate controls when the lentils move into distribution.
§ Mr. Biffenasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the percentage increase between January 1973 and January 1974 in the deadweight cattle price and the retail price of beef, respectively.
§ Mr. Anthony StodartThe following table shows the percentage changes in deadweight clean cattle prices between January 1973 and 1974 and retail beef prices between January 1973 and December 1973, the latest date for which the information is available. The retail prices are those collected for the purposes of the Retail Food Price Index. Deadweight cattle prices are those collected by the MLC for the purposes of its weekly Market Survey.
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§ Mr. Hardyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the percentage by which the price of food has risen and the percentage by which family expenditure upon food has increased since June 1970.
§ Mrs. FennerAs to the first part of the Question, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Northfield (Mr. Carter) and others. As to the second part, information collected for the National Food Survey shows that average weekly expenditure on food increased by 31.7 per cent. between the second quarter of 1970 and the third quarter of 1973.