HC Deb 04 July 1972 vol 840 c89W
75. Mr. Brocklebank-Fowler

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is taking to encourage the development of new commercial varieties of fruit and vegetables suitable for export within the European Economic Community.

Mr. Anthony Stodart

There is a continuous programme of breeding, testing and development of new varieties of fruits and vegetables at agricultural research council institutes, at the Ministry's experimental horticulture stations, and elsewhere. Marketing considerations are of course taken into account, and in some fields, for example in efforts to develop a late fruiting strawberry, the possibility of an export trade to Europe is very much in mind.