§ Mr. Biffenasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals have been formulated within the EEC concerning charges in the cereals régime designed to prevent high-yielding non-bread wheat varieties benefiting from the bread wheat guarantee; what most popular strains of wheat grown in the United Kingdom would be affected; how such a policy would be supervised and enforced; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BishopIn its 1976–77 price proposals the Commission proposes that intervention prices for maize, barley and teed wheat should be set closer together in 1976–77 as a step towards their eventual alignment at a common level. For breadmaking wheat it is proposed to introduce a "reference price" set about 13 per cent. above the level of the intervention price for feed wheat.
The Commission has not yet tabled its proposals for detailed implementation of the arrangement for breadmaking wheats. Until it does so it is not possible to make a considered appraisal of their proposal. However, my right hon. Friend has 868W already made it clear in the Council that we shall want to look very closely at these proposals and he has stressed the importance of having a reliable and effective means of distinguishing between feed and milling wheats.