§ Mr. Pardoeasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if it remains Government policy to reduce Great Britain's dependence on imported agricultural produce.
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§ Mr. StrangI refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mr. Corbett) on 4th November.—[Vol. 918, col.672–673.]
§ Mr. Pardoeasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the balance of payments cost of all imported agricultural products; and how much of this relates to products grown in climates similar to Great Britain.
§ Mr. StrangThe provisional balance of payments cost of all agricultural products imported into the United Kingdom during the calendar year 1975 was £3,426 million. I regret that comparable figures for the second half of the question are not available, but imports during the crop year 1974–75 accounted for 35 per cent. of United Kingdom food comsumption of indigenous products.