§ Mr. Marlowasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he remains satisfied that it will be possible to achieve a fundamental reform in the common agricultural policy; and, if so, by what date.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerI refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon (Mr. Proctor) on 8 July.—[Vol. 27, c.443.]
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many of the foodstuffs in 268W respect of which an increase in consumption was recorded in the national food survey were covered by the common agricultural policy; and if he will publish a table showing which particular foodstuffs recorded in the survey as having increased consumption were or were not covered by the common agricultural policy;
(2) how many of the foodstuffs in respect of which a diminution in consumption was recorded in the national food survey were covered by the common agricultural policy; and if he will publish a table showing which particular foodstuffs recorded in the survey as having reduced consumption were or were not covered by the common agricultural policy.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithIt is difficult to classify foodstuffs according to whether or not they are covered by the common agricultural policy since many of them are processed and incorporate more than one agricultural commodity. Moreover, the influence of the common agricultural policy on the prices of even basic agricultural commodities is far from certain since much depends on the nature of the regime and on the market situation.
It is also difficult to divide foodstuffs according to whether the national food survey has recorded an increase or decrease in their consumption, since the direction of change can differ according to the comparison period chosen, and in any event it could be misleading to attribute such changes to the common agricultural policy; consumption is influenced by a number of other factors, including changes in incomes and in consumer preferences.