§ Mr. Spenceasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to know the acreage under potato crop this season, and the estimated yield by comparison with previous years; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BishopThe June Agricultural Census returns are now being analysed and I expect to have the results relating to the acreage of the United Kingdom 1975 potato crop very shortly. The Potato Marketing Board has informed me that plantings of the 1975 crop by registered producers in Great Britain are provisionally estimated at 448,00 acres, compared with 468,000 acres in 1974. This provisional estimate for plantings in 1975 is 47,000 acres down on the target acreage. The maincrop is still at the growth stage and a realistic assessment of the likely yield will not be possible until the autumn.