§ Mr. Marlowasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the cost of food/feed imports from other Common Market countries for the last complete year; and what would have been the cost had the same quantity of commodities been imported at the average of world market prices for the same period.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithThe cost of food/feed imports from other Communnity member States was £2,627.8 million in 1979. The cost might have been around £2,000 million if these imports had been obtained at prices which were lower by the amount of the average net levies on United Kingdom imports in 1979. However, for the reasons set out on the reply to my hon. Friend's question on 11 June, I do not regard it as realistic to assume that, in the absence of the CAP, we would obtain our imported supplies of milk products and sugar at such prices.