§ 80. Mr. HardyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has about the present number of dairy herds in the United Kingdom and in each member state of the EEC; and what equivalent information he has for each country 10 years ago.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonThe most recent data available are for 1986. No comparable data are available for 1976, so the following table compares the 1986 figures with those for 1977.
Number of dairy herds in the EEC Country Year Number of herds Year Number of herds Germany 1977 519,000 1986 369,000 France 1977 576,000 1986 329,000 Italy 1977 453,000 1986 338,000 Netherlands 1977 83,000 1986 61,000 Belgium 1977 66,000 1986 45,000 Luxembourg 1977 4,000 1986 2,000 United Kingdom 1977 72,000 1986 53,000 Irish Republic 1977 120,000 1986 77,000 Denmark 1977 56,000 1986 32,000 Greece 1977 n/a 1986 73,000 Spain n/a n/a Portugal n/a n/a Source:
(a) The Agricultural Situation in the Community 1987 Report.
(b) Eurostat Yearbook of Agricultural Statistics 1978.