§ 52. Mr. David Priceasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has made to the Commission of the EEC and to the Council of Ministers, respectively, about the sale of surplus butter to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics at prices below the market price.
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§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithWhen my right hon. Friend first heard of these sales, he protested immediately to Commissioner Gundelach and urged him to find ways of controlling the Community's exports of butter. As a result of these representations, the Commission has introduced a system of export licensing for butter which should enable exports to be monitored more closely than hitherto.
My right hon. Friend again raised this question at the Council on 15–16 October. He emphasised the need to eliminate surpluses so as to make such sales unnecessary and stressed the inadequacy of the Commission controls which allow fresh butter to be sold to Russia when there are substantial stocks of older butter available. He pressed for an immediate review of the level of the export refunds and asked that the Commission should carry out a general review of surplus disposal arrangements. The Commissioner accepted the need to consider the question of the disposal of stocks of older butter and confirmed that the system of export licensing would enable the general situation to be kept under review.