§ Mr. Knoxasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) from information available from international sources, what was the average producer return from cattle expressed in pounds per live hundredweight, in Germany, France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg and Italy during 1970 or the most recent 12 months for which figures are available; and how this compares with the United Kingdom figure;
(2) from information available from international sources, what was the average producer return from cattle expressed in pounds per live hundredweight in the European Economic Community, during 1970 or the most recent 12 months for which figures are available; and how this compares with the average return in the United Kingdom market.
§ Mr. PriorA comparison of average market prices received by producers in each country of the European Economic Communities and in the United Kingdom is shown below.
AVERAGE MARKET PRICES £ per live cwt. Year ending 30th June, 1970 Good Quality Average Quality Belgium … 15.76 13.44 France … 15.86 11.42 Germany … 15.45 12.10 Italy … 16.27 14.13 Luxembourg … 14.33 11.16 Netherlands … 16.05 13.90 Certified Fat Cattle year ending 31st March 1970 1971 (forecast) United Kingdom … 9.73(1) 10.24(2) (1) Excludes deficiency payment of £1.08 per live cwt. related to a guaranteed price of £10.75 per live cwt.
(2) Excludes deficiency payment of £1.38 per live cwt. related to a guaranteed price of £11.62 per live cwt.
210WCommunity members and August/July for the United Kingdom. Information is not available for Luxembourg or for the Community as a whole.
No annual average market prices are available for the E.E.C. as a whole. However, weekly prices are published and during the calendar year 1970 these ranged from £14.07 to £15.08 per live cwt.