HC Deb 03 July 1975 vol 894 cc504-5W
15. Mr. Watt

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he proposes to take to prevent a collapse in the price of beef cattle this autumn.

Mr. Bishop

I hope to announce later this month the scale of monthly target prices for beef cattle up to February 1976. These prices will increase between the autumn and the spring, and this will give producers an incentive to market their cattle in an orderly way. There are also support buying arrangements to prevent market collapse; but orderly marketing is much the better answer and I hope producers will cooperate in keeping the market stable.