§ Mr. Joplingasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the present collapse of the ewe trade in Scotland and in the United Kingdom hill areas.
§ Mr. BishopThe fall in ewe prices so far this year as compared with last autumn reflects the recent fall in fat-stock prices and producers' anxieties about winter feed supplies. My right hon. Friend described the action being taken to meet these problems in the reply he gave to the hon. Member for Devon, West
AVERAGE PRICES AT UTTOXETER MARKET (£ per live cwt.) Date of market (Wednesdays) Light Steers Medium Steers Heavy Steers Light Heifers Medium Heifers Heavy Heifers 1974— 7th August … … 17.62 17.44 16.94 16.13 16.00 15.75 14th August … … 17.19 17.32 16.53 15.79 15.46 14.37 21st August … … 16.80 16.66 16.55 16.16 16.26 15.26 28th August … … 16.05 16.70 17.05 14.81 15.78 16.15 4th September … … 16.57 16.58 15.61 14.69 14.63 14.98 11th September … … 15.74 15.63 15.11 13.47 13.45 14.47 18th September … … 16.42 16.16 15.36 15.06 14.97 15.09 25th September … … 16.41 16.29 15.92 15.47 15.65 16.12 2nd October … … 14.27 14.44 13.76 13.20 12.50 12.36 9th October … … 13.49 13.70 13.29 12.54 12.61 13.24 16th October … … 14.85 14.90 14.95 12.78 12.78 12.65 23rd October … … 13.22 13.41 13.03 12.09 11.62 12.40 30th October … … 13.74 14.06 14.13 13.42 13.27 12.94 6th November … … 14.79 14.82 14.43 13.42 13.67 12.64 Source: MLC.