§ Mr. Hardyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has completed his review of beef market prospects; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. PeartAfter consultation with the industry I have reviewed with my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Northern Ireland and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Wales, the current state of the beef market and the likely prospects for the second half of 1976. We have taken into account that supplies are likely to be lower this autumn than the high levels in autumn 1975; that though farmers in certain areas of the country are facing difficulties because of the dry weather, fodder supplies are in general quite adequate, especially in the main livestock rearing areas; and that the EEC has recently introduced two schemes for Community-aided private storage of beef as measures to maintain market stability.
We have concluded that for the time being there is no need to change the current balance between the premium and intervention arrangements in the United Kingdom. Should the beef market show unexpected weakness it remains the intention of the Government to allow intervention to underpin the market in order to achieve the target price.