§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations have been made by the European Economic Community Commission to Her Majesty's Government regarding the payment of subsidies for butter exported to the Soviet Union; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MacGregorThere have been no such representations. The United Kingdom authorities are cooperating in the Commission's investigation of the possibility that butter consigned to Cuba from the United Kingdom and some other member states may have been diverted to the Soviet Union.
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if European Economic Community funds or British Treasury funds will require to bear the cost of the £4,000,000 subsidy paid to Messrs. Roombotefabrick of Holland for exporting cheap butter to the Soviet Union by means of Cuban documents.
§ Mr. MacGregorExport refunds of this amount funded by the Community were paid to British exporters on consignments of butter destined for Cuba. Should it prove that any of the butter was in fact diverted to the Soviet Union, action will be taken to recover the corresponding payments.
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much subsidised butter has been sent by the European Economic Community to Cuba in each of the most recent five years for which figures are available; and how much subsidy was involved.
§ Mr. MacGregorIn the past five years exports from the European Community of butter to Cuba were as follows:
tonnes 1979 Nil 1980 31,265 1981 15,284 1982 35,201 1983* 21,607 * January-September. Source: Eurostat.
Expenditure information on export refunds is not collected by the Commission in a form which enables it to be related to exports to a particular country of destination.