§ Mr. Fernyhoughasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will urge his EEC colleagues not to attempt to reduce the 750,000 tons of skimmed milk powder by converting part of it to animal food, but rather to make as much of it as possible available to Third World food aid schemes.
§ Mr. BishopThe Council of Ministers has agreed to give 55,000 tonnes of skimmed milk powder to developing countries under the 1975 food aid programme and it is proposed to increase the quantity to 70,000 tonnes. In addition, 100,000 tonnes have been made available for developing countries from interven-400W tion stocks at a reduced price. At their meeting on 21st-22nd July the Council agreed to reduce the price from a half to a quarter of the intervention price and also agreed that, in addition to sales through charitable organisations, direct sales to the Governments of the least well-off countries should be permitted. There is, however, a limit to the quantities that can be made available in this way, having regard to the problems of distribution and the need for supervision to avoid possible health risks. Other possibilities for disposal must, therefore, be considered.