§ Mr. Spearingasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the sugar beet crop in 1976; and if he will seek permission from the Council of Ministers to increase imports of cane sugar over 1.3 million tons in order to fill any likely deficit.
§ Mr. BishopIt is too early to estimate with any precision the 1976–77 United Kingdom sugar beet crop. It is, however, expected that Community sugar supplies in the coming year will be adequate, taking account of imports from ACP suppliers within the framework of the Lomé Convention sugar protocol.
§ Mr. Spearingasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will set out in Official Report his estimate of demand for and supplies of sugar available to the home market in the year September 1976 to September 1977, including drawing on stocks and imports of white sugar refined elsewhere in the EEC.
§ Mr. BishopIt is too early to estimate with any precision United Kingdof beet sugar production in 1976–77; as a result, no detailed breakdown of supplies to the United Kingdom market between October 1976 and September 1977 can be given. It is, however, expected that the ACP sugar producers will fulfil their quotas under the Lomé Convention sugar protocol during that period, but that stocks, which have been run down this year from their high levels in 625W October 1975, will not be further reduced. On the demand side, a moderate increase over the 1975–76 level is foreseen in 1976–77.