§ 13. Mr. O'Halloranasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received from the Greater London area regarding food prices; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. FennerI have received representations from various parts of the country including the Greater London area.
§ 14. Dr. Gilbertasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what food commodities he expects to be reduced in price as a result of ministerial discussion in Brussels in November and December.
§ Mr. GodberAction against increases in costs and prices is a primary objective of both the review of the common agricultural policy and the EEC's counter-inflation programme, but it is too early to say how these proposals will be reflected in the prices of individual commodities.
§ 30. Mr. Leslie Huckfieldasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the effect of the energy shortage on food prices.
§ Mr. GodberI have no evidence that the energy shortage has had any effect on food prices so far. If it is prolonged there will clearly be pressure on manufacturing and distribution costs, but it is too early to predict the extent to which this might be reflected in retail prices.
§ 36. Mr. David Stoddartasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has about trends in distributive margins for fresh food; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. FennerMy right hon. Friend has asked the Price Commission to keep prices and margins for fresh food under continuous review and to report to him regularly.
§ Mr. Meacherasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the percentage increase in food prices in the year to November 1973.
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§ Mrs. FennerBetween 14th November 1972 and 13th November 1973 the food index rose by 18.8 per cent.
§ Mr. Spearingasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will tabulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT the main changes in food tariffs consequent on Statutory Instrument 1845 of 1973, showing separately the increases and decreases, and showing the basis for his estimate that food costs will rise by between a quarter and a half per cent., stating the actual sums involved at each stage.
§ Mrs. FennerIt is impracticable to set out in the OFFICIAL REPORT a list of the products affected and changes in duties. Detailed information is available in the Import Duties (General) (No. 8) Order of 1973 (Statutory Instrument 1845 of 1973) and in the orders it revokes. The estimate of the repercussions of the tariff changes on food prices takes account of the possible increase in tariff revenue collected on imports of the foodstuffs in question and the possible effect on prices of competing imported and home-produced foodstuffs. Owing to the complexity of the changes and the difficulty of assessing the extent to which some of the changes may be absorbed by exporters and also may affect prices of competing foodstuffs, the estimate has been expressed as a range.