§ Sir D. Rentonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what quality standards the Government will require for grain to be offered to intervention centres for sale, and for wheat to be presented for denaturing under the common agricultural policy for cereals.
§ Mr. PriorIn reaching decisions on those quality standards which are at the discretion of national governments, we have borne in mind, as stated by my hon. Friend the Minister of State on 9th May, 1972, that the standards should be at a level that will facilitate the storage and resale of grain.
I have therefore decided that in respect of wheat and barley offered for sale into intervention the relevant standards will be as follows:
For wheat:
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- maximum moisture content—15 per cent.
- minimum specific weight—72 kg/h1 (57.6 lbs./bushel).
- maximum content of sprouted grain—2 per cent.
For all barley:
- maximum moisture content—15 per cent.
- minimum specific weight—63 kg./hl. (50.4 lbs./bushel).
- maximum content of sprouted grains—5 per cent.
We intend to keep these standards under constant review and will be ready to modify them in either direction should experience show this to be necessary.
For wheat presented for denaturing the relevant standards will be:
- maximum moisture content—18 per cent.
- minimum specific weight—70 kg./h1. (56.0 lbs./bushel).—[Vol. 836, c. 322.]