§ Mr. ReedTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has made to the EU on the level of agrimonetary compensation in relation to the performance of the Euro; and if he will make a statement. [137057]
§ Ms QuinAgrimonetary arrangements currently in place offset the effects of fluctuations between the euro and sterling. As a result, between 1999 and 2001, UK farmers are likely to benefit by around £496 million, in addition to the £133 million paid under the previous arrangements.
The most recent repesentation made to the EU Commission on this subject referred to the proposed payment of £34 million in agrimonetary compensation to arable farmers to offset the effects of currency fluctuations during 1999–2000: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of
Percentage Member state Total beet sugar production Thousand tonnes Total beet and cane sugar production1 Sugar consumption Self sufficiency (beet) Self sufficiency (beet and cane) Austria 501 501 320 157 157 Belgium/Luxembourg 1,092 1,092 543 201 201 Denmark 552 552 200 276 276 Finland 167 227 213 78 106 France 4,522 4,819 2,211 205 218 Germany 4,380 4,380 2,734 160 160 Greece 232 232 306 76 76 Ireland 212 212 131 162 162 Italy 1,705 1,705 1,423 120 120 Netherlands 1,117 1,117 635 176 176 Portugal 75 367 325 23 113 Spain 1,105 1,105 1,268 87 87 Sweden 431 431 367 117 117 UK 1,546 2,676 2,147 72 125 Total 17,637 19,416 12,824 138 151 1 Total sugar includes sugar produced France, Portugal and the UK from cane grown in the EU under quota, or refined from cane maximum supply needs, in Finland,