§ Mr. David Priceasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the difference between the exchange value of the £ sterling and the green pound at the latest convenient date; what would be the cost to the Exchequer of an immediate devaluation of the green pound to the prevailing rate of the £ sterling; and what is his estimate of the economic consequences of such a devaluation on the British farmer and on the British consumer, respectively.
§ Mr. BishopThe gap between the representative—green pound—rate and the market rate used for calculating monetary compensatory amounts is 33.8 per cent. If the green pound were devalued to that market rate, the cost to the Community budget of sterling monetary compensatory amounts, now estimated at about £350 million in a full year, would be eliminated. Net levies on agricultural products
74Whave explained, the letters were passed to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for his attention.