§ Mr. Barry Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the numbers of (a) farmers engaged in dairy farming in Wales and (b) those employees working in Wales in the dairy industry, including the milk distribution trade, at the current time.
§ Mr. Nicholas EdwardsAt December 1983, the number of registrations held by milk producers in Wales totalled 7,428. The number of farmers—including partners and directors doing farm work—associated with this total is not known. However, at June 1983, 7,138 holdings were classified as "specialist dairy" and "mainly dairy" farms, and the number of farmers, partners and directors engaged on these farm types amounted to 9,030.
The number of employees, comprising regular workers, salaried managers and seasonal or casual workers, on the specialist dairy and mainly dairy farms totalled 6,292. The number of employees engaged in the milk and milk products sector of manufacturing industry totalled approximately 3,000 in 1981. Those engaged in milk distribution cannot be separately identified.