§ Mr. Foulkesasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list for the revised STABEX scheme under Lomé III (a) the agricultural products covered, (b) the countries involved, and (c) the thresholds for each product and for each agricultural product under Lomé II, the take-up for each country and the overall percentage take-up.
§ Mr. RaisonThe full list of 48 products covered by the Lomé III Stabex scheme is set out in article 148 of the convention, the text of which has been published in Cmnd. 9511.
All 66 African, Caribbean and Pacific signatories to the third Lomé convention are potentially eligible to receive Stabex transfers.
For an ACP state other than the least developed, landlocked and island states (listed in articles 257, 260 and 263 respectively) the Stabex system applies to any eligible product if, during the year preceding the year of application, export earnings from that product to all destinations represented at least 6 per cent. (or in the case of sisal 4½ per cent.) of total export earnings. For the least developed, landlocked and island states the system applies if export earnings from the product represented at least 1½ per cent.
An ACP state is entitled to request a transfer if, on the basis of the results of one calendar year, its actual earnings from its exports of each product to the Community (or, in certain cases where derogations have been given, to other ACP states in addition, or in certain other cases to all destinations) are at least 6 per cent. below the reference level as defined in article 158. For the least developed, landlocked and island states that percentage is reduced to 1½ per cent.
I shall write to the hon. Member giving details of Lomé II Stabex allocations. By the end of 1984 transfer decisions had been made totalling 463,134,391 ecu (73 per cent. of Stabex funds available under Lomé II)—£264 million approximately.