§ Mr. John MarshallTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the change of cost of milk to the milk processing industry since the introduction of Milk Marque; and what assessment he has made of the change in employment in the dairy and milk processing industry since then. [29513]
§ Mr. JackIt is not possible to make a general comparison between the price of milk for processing under the old and new milk marketing arrangements because of the different selling systems involved and the variety of contracts now on offer by Milk Marque. Some companies have announced restructuring plans since 1 November 1994, but most of the job losses are in the bottling and distribution of liquid milk where the principal factor is the intense competition from supermarkets rather than deregulation.