§ Mr. Nicholas BrownTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food at what price British wholesalers buy wine per 75 cl bottle; what he estimates the price of wine per bottle would be in a free market without European Community price intervention; what are the levels of European Community production and consumption; what is the level of common agricultural policy expenditure on wine subsidies; and what is the cost622W to the British Exchequer of European Community intervention in the wine sector. [16155]
§ Mr. JackThe price at which British wholesalers buy wine is a matter for commercial negotiation and varies by consignment.
For this reason, and because it would require a large number of hypothetical assumptions, it is not possible to estimate what the price of wine per bottle would be in the free market without European Community intervention.
The European Commission estimates that European Community wine production in the 1993–94 wine year was 159 million hectolitres, that 129 mhl was consumed as wine in the EC, net exports were 9 mhl and other uses—for example, vinegar, vermouth and eaux de vie—12 mhl.
Total common agricultural policy expenditure in 1994 on the wine regime was 1,220 million ecu, or £1,002 million, provisional outturn.
The Exchequer cost of CAP support for wine in the UK is estimated at £820,000 for the 1994–95 financial year. The UK also contributes to the European Community budget as a whole, which funds the cost of the wine support system in other member states.