§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the output of and tonnage of imports and exports for lamb for(a) the United Kingdom, (b) New Zealand, (c) Denmark, (d) the Republic of Ireland and (e) the EEC Six; what tonnage of EEC lamb was dumped on world markets; what was the difference between the common agricultural policy price and the New Zealand export price to third markets; and what was the cost of lamb support in (i) 1968, (ii) 1979, (iii) 1989 and (iv) 1994.
211W
§ Mr. JackInformation concerning United Kingdom production of lamb for years 1979 and 1989 are available from Agriculture in the United Kingdom. Data for 1968 are not available on the same basis and estimates for 1994 are not yet available. Trade information is published in the annual statement of trade of the United Kingdom 1968, Customs and Excise; DTI "Business Monitor" "Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom" 1979; CSO "Business Monitor", MM20 and MQ20 June 1994.
Information on the output of lamb in the EU member states for 1979, 1989 and 1992—latest—is published in "The Agricultural Situation in the Community"—Commission of the European Communities—and for 1968 can be found in the FAO production yearbook for 1970. Imports and exports of lamb by EU member states are published by Eurostat. The publications contain total volumes of lamb exported to third countries. New Zealand lamb output is published in annual FAO production yearbooks; import and export information is published annually in FAO trade yearbooks.
212WThe basic price set for the EU sheepmeat regime is 3,882.3 ecu/tonne. The New Zealand export price to third markets is not readily available.
It is not possible to estimate the costs of lamb support to consumers and taxpayers without making a large number of hypothetical assumptions about alternative policies which would have obtained in the absence of the CAP, and the effects of those policies. Community budgetary expenditure under the CAP in respect of the sheepmeat regime is given in the following table:
Year Mecu 1968 n/a 1979 0 1989 1,453 1993 1,800 The applicable conversion rates into sterling are 1989: 0.65475; 1993: 0.78627.
Source:
FEOGA.