Mr. Wm Rossasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the total tonnage of butter now in store in the United Kingdom; how much was imported from the EEC countries in each of the last 12 months; how much from 455W other suppliers, stating the sources; and how much he estimates will be imported in each of the next three months from other EEC countries.
§ Mr. BishopStocks of butter in surveyed public cold stores in the United Kingdom, other than those in the distribution pipeline, totalled 152,000 tonnes on 20th January. Imports of butter in each month of 1977, and their sources, are given in the table below. As regards imports expected in the next three months from other EEC countries, it is not the practice of my Department to publish such forecasts.
UNITED KINGDOM IMPORTS OF BUTTER—1977 Tonnes Source EEC New Zealand January 16,373 8,207 February 12,976 10,507 March 18,944 10,254 April 14,103 14,086 May 33,383 5,988 June 11,237 6,474 July 9,317 2,538 August 11,400 8,230 September 6,625 8,663 October 6,876 5,371 November 18,015 18,846 December 30,051* 29,799* * Provisional. Source: Overseas Trade Statistics.