§ Mr. Priorasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has formed of the savings on deficiency payments which result from the operation of minimum import prices.
§ Mr. HoyMinimum import price arrangements have been in operation for some years for cereals and have just been introduced for eggs and egg products. Such arrangements help to keep a floor to market prices in the United Kingdom. It is not possible to say by how much market prices would differ over any particular period with minimum import price arrangements and without them, and so it is not possible to estimate the saving on deficiency payments.