HC Deb 09 February 1999 vol 325 cc201-2W
Mr. Hoyle

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the principal(a) domestic and (b) export markets for tobacco grown in the European Union under subsidy. [69326]

Mr. Rooker

The specific information requested is not available. However, the European Commission's 1997 report on the common organisation of the market in raw tobacco says that the European Union consumes about 23 per cent. of its tobacco production. The main export markets for EU raw tobacco are the former-USSR, Central and Eastern European Countries, North Africa and the USA.

Mr. Hoyle

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the member states of the EU which will benefit from financial support from the FEOGA budget in the current financial year for their tobacco growing industries. [69324]

Mr. Rooker

The eight producer Member States under the EU tobacco regime are: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

Mr. Hoyle

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many people are employed as a result of grant-assisted tobacco growing in the European Union. [69325]

Mr. Rooker

The European Commission's 1997 report on the common organisation of the market in tobacco says that there are about 135,000 tobacco farmers in the Community, and that the number of people who earn their living farming tobacco exceeds this figure. In addition, the report says that some 30,000 people were employed in the first processing of tobacco in 1990 (including seasonal jobs).

There is no information to relate employment in the EU tobacco sector to availability of the Community support to tobacco production.