Mr. Ted Fletcherasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what would be the effect on retail food prices and farmers' incomes in the United Kingdom if the United Kingdom moved immediately to present CAP prices, ignoring any transitional steps.
§ Mr. BishopI regret that it is not possible to provide useful estimates. Retail food prices and farmers' incomes are affected by many factors, and there would be major uncertainties, for example, about the effect of a sharp price increase on consumption and, in turn, on the way in which higher import or farm gate prices might be passed on to consumers.