§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food by what percentage Common Market entry prices for common wheat, barley, maize, white sugar, beef and veal, pigmeat, butter and skimmed milk powder, respectively, exceeded the minimum offer prices for imports on the most recent date for which figures are available; and what were the comparable percentages for each product on a comparable date in each of the previous five years.
§ Mr. Buchanan-Smith[pursuant to his reply, 10 December 1982, c. 650]: The figures requested are shown in the following table. These do not necessarily represent the difference between European Community prices and those which the Community would be able to purchase in substantial quantities on world markets.
275Wpowder and sugar—threshold price; beef and veal—guide price for adult cattle converted to carcase equivalent; pigmeat—sluicegate price plus basic levy.
The mimimum offer prices of imports underlying the calculation of the variable levies have been calculated by subtracting the common levy for each commodity in ECUs applicable on 1 December in each year from the appropriate threshold or guide price. The beef price has also been adjusted for duty and the sluicegate price has been taken for pigmeat.
† No levies were payable on imports of white sugar on 1 December 1980 but a levy of 137.7 ecu/tonne was charged on exports of (a) and (b) quota sugar from the EEC.