§ Mr. Pardoeasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will estimate from information available to him the number of chick placings by egg producers in the United Kingdom, France, and the EEC as a whole, respectively, during the last three-month period for which figures are available and for the corresponding periods in each of the previous two years.
§ Mr. BishopThe latest published figures available for all these areas are those up to and including October 1974:
CHICKS PLACED FOR EGG LAYING (millions) August to October (inclusive) United Kingdom* France† EEC‡ 1972 10.02 8.28 43.73 1973 12.47 8.95 46.37 1974 12.33 9.43 49.57 * Source: MAFF. The United Kingdom figures exclude imports and sales for export. † Source: The Eggs Authority. These estimates are based on the statistics published by the International Egg Commission and include some adjustments made to improve comparability.
§ Mr. Wintertonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how 167W many French, West German and Italian eggs, respectively, were imported into the United Kingdom during the latest four-week period for which figures are available; what percentage were inspected; and what percentage of those inspected were incorrectly stamped and dated.
§ Mr. BishopThe provisionally estimated figure for imports of eggs in January 1975, and the numbers inspected, are as follows:
During this period 77 boxes of French eggs inspected were found with minor labelling infringements.
Number of boxes (360 eggs) Country Imported Inspected Percentage of imports inspected France 60,000 12,400 20 West Germany Nil — — Italy Nil — — There were no reports of improper coding.