§ Mr. Croninasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give figures to indicate how much the price in Great Britain of products covered by the common agricultural policy went up, during the nine months from August 1976; how much the food price index as a whole 464W went up; and how much the price of foodstuffs not covered by the common agricultural policy went up during the same period.
§ Mr. BishopIn the nine months between August 1976 and May 1977, the index of retail prices of food rose by 20 per cent. The change in the prices of products which are and are not subject to CAP arrangements cannot be separately calculated, since many foods sold retail contain a combination of ingredients.
§ Mr. Croninasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give estimates of the extent to which the prices of food covered by the common agricultural policy in the nine months from August 1976 have increased as a result of farm price support, high manufacturing and distributive costs and the withdrawal of consumer subsidies, respectively.
§ Mr. BishopThe changes between August 1976 and May 1977 in the consumer subsidies for bread, flour, milk and cheese were equivalent to increases in the index of retail food prices for May 1977 of 0.1, 0.05, 1.1 and 0.2 per cent. respectively, and for butter to a decrease of 0.1 per cent. The separate effect on foodstuffs subject to CAP arrangements of changes in support prices and manufacturing and distributive costs cannot be reliably assessed.