§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the quantity of New Zealand lamb imported into the United Kingdom; how this compares with the figure for 1970; what arrangements have been made in this respect for the future; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithIn 1980, 182,500 tonnes of lamb and 6,200 tonnes of mutton were imported into the United Kingdom from New Zealand. The corresponding figures for 1970 were 277,100 tonnes and 18,300 tonnes.
The Community has concluded a voluntary restraint agreement with New Zealand under which the import tariff has been halved in return for a limit on New Zealand's annual sendings to the Community as a whole of 245,500 tonnes. This is slightly above the average level of imports in recent years.