§ Mr. Bryant Godman Irvineasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the effect of the new single general variable levy system for cereals on the price of soft wheats, which do not need to be imported, inflating the price in the United Kingdom of hard wheats, which have to be imported to produce bread flour.
§ Mr. PriorThe effect of the new general levy scheme for cereals will be to charge the same levy on all types of200W wheat other than denatured wheat. The effect on any particular wheat will depend on circumstances in the world market and any estimate would be purely speculative.
§ Mr. Bryant Godman Irvineasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether revenue accruing from the new single general variable levy system for cereals will be regarded as income for the farmer, in lieu of deficiency payments under the old support system.
§ Mr. PriorThe object of the new general variable levy scheme for cereals is broadly to sustain United Kingdom average market prices and so enable producers to look more to the market for their returns and less to public funds but the total return to farmers will still be determined by the guaranteed price.
§ Mr. Bryant Godman Irvineasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food why the new single general variable levy system for cereals differentiates between feed wheats and millable wheats, but not between filler types of millable wheats.
§ Mr. PriorThe variable general levy scheme for cereals represents an interim stage in implementing Government policy to move towards comprehensive general levy schemes as the basis of agricultural support. Denatured wheat has been separately categorised because the market for this wheat is, in some respects, separate from that for other wheats.