§ Mr. Luceasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what action he proposes to take to enable bacon curers to maintain their contracts with pig producers for 1971–72.
§ Mr. PriorIn order to enable curers to maintain their contracts with pig pro-270W ducers for 1971–72, the Government have decided to suspend for the last quarter of the current year the target differential arrangement in the Bacon Curing Industry Stabilisation Scheme.
Both the Government and the industry recognise the need to establish in the future a better relationship between the number of pigs contracted for by the curers and the level of bacon production which can be marketed successfully. This longer-term problem is to be the subject of further discussions with the curers to ensure that the actual level of United Kingdom bacon production in 1972–73 is more in line with the level of production allowed for in any arrangements for the continuation next year of the Bacon Market Sharing Understanding.