§ Lord Brougham and Vauxasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have determined the market support prices for potatoes to apply in Great Britain for the 1989–90 crop year beginning 1st July 1989
§ Baroness TrumpingtonAgriculture Ministers have consulted the Farmers' Union about the market support arrangements to apply for the 1989–90 crop year. We have decided to authorise the Potato Marketing Board to enter into pre-season contracts with producers over the period November 1989 to May 1990 at a scale of prices not exceeding a weighted average of £53 per tonne. We have also authorised the board to intervene directly on the market throughout the season where this will ensure that support can be carried out more cheaply than by purchasing under contract, provided that the total intervention during 1989–90 does not exceed 500,000 tonnes. The target area for potato planting by registered producers in Great Britain was fixed last July at 155,000 hectares.