§ Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknishasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will give, for the last year for which figures are available, the hectarage of tobacco grown in each country of the European Union and the amount of subsidy paid from the Common Agricultural Policy. [HL2929]
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Baroness Hayman)The hectarage of tobacco grown in each country of the EU attracting subsidy is given in the table. Nineteen ninety-eight is the last year for which figures are available.
Area of Production of tobacco (including seedlings enclosures) 1998 Belgium 377 Germany 3,522 Greece 62,080 Spain 16,589 France 9,057 Italy 48,239 Austria 102 Portugal 2,595 The amount of subsidy paid from the CAP in 1998 was 870 million ECU1 (£584 million using an exchange rate of £1 = 1.4887 ECU2).
1 Source: EAGGF Guarantee Annual Reports
2 Exchange rate: Feoga Financial Report 1998.