§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what decisions have been made by the Management Committee of the common agricultural policy dealing with the disposal of food surpluses on the sale of food and wine on terms more advantageous than the normal rebated prices; if he will detail, in respect of the past 12 months, the contracts approved, the quantities and prices involved, and the countries receiving the special supplies; and if the representative of Her Majesty's Government on the Committee approved or voted against each particular contract.
§ Mr. JoplingThe proposals on which decisions were made in the Management Committee for milk and milk products, involving special sale terms for the export of butter, the only commodity for which such measures have been taken in the last 12 months, are as follows. In all cases which involved discriminatory special sales the United Kingdom representative on the committee voted against the adoption of the measures. However it is not the business of the Management Committee to approve individual contracts. Since some contracts involved butter sold under a combination of these regulations, it is impossible to be specific about prices. To date, the Commission estimates that 350,000 tonnes of butter have been sold under these regulations taken together.
26 July 1984 — Adoption of regulation (EEC) 2268/84, which provides for the sale of butter aged at least six months old from intervention stock for export with a subsidy of 9.26p per lb in addition to the export refund.26 July 1984 — Adoption of regulation (EEC) 2278/84, which provides for the sale of butter taken into intervention store before 1 April 1983 for export as ghee with a subsidy of 11.23p per lb in addition to the export refund for butteroil.As adopted, regulation 2268/84 applied only in respect of the USSR and certain Middle East countries. Regulation 2278/84 applied only in respect of certain Middle East countries.16 October 1984 — Adoption of amendments to regulation 2268/84 to increase the subsidy to 9.68p per lb and to provide for the export of butter sold under this regulation in the form of butteroil.16 October 1984 — Adoption of regulation (EEC) 2956/84, title II of which provided for the sale of butter, stored in intervention stocks since before 1 April 1983 for export either as butter or in the form of butteroil to the destinations specified in regulation 2268/84, with a subsidy of 39.72p per lb in addition to the relevant export refund. Access to butter under this regulation was limited to traders who had purchased at least 475W 50,000 tonnes of butter under Regulation 2268/84 and who concluded contracts to export all the butter purchased under 2956/84 to one destination.29 November 1984— Adoption of a Commission proposal amending regulations 2268/84 and 2278/84 to apply them in respect of exports to all destinations and repealing title II of regulation 2956/84.14 February 1985 — Adoption of a Commission proposal amending regulation 2268/84 to provide for a subsidy of 7.72p per lb in addition to the export refund in butter exported from stocks under EEC-aided private storage contracts.
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the approval of Her Majesty's Government or their representative in the management Committee of the Common Market will be required before the Common Market Commission concludes its deal through the Interaga company of Paris to sell 380,000 tonnes of butter to the Soviet Union at 16p per pound; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. JoplingThe Community currently has 895,996 tonnes of butter in its intervention stocks. Any proposals for the sale of this butter on special terms would have to be put to representatives of member States in the Management Committee, where a vote would be taken. There are no such proposals before the Management Committee at the present time.