§ Mr. Moateasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish a table showing what the approximate increases in the retail prices would be of one pound of beef, a standard loaf of bread, one pound of butter, one pound of cheese, a dozen eggs, one pound of flour, one pint of milk, one pound of pigmeat and one kilogramme of sugar resulting from the adoption of (a) the European Commission's common agriculture prices proposals for 1977–78 and (b) the proposed 6 per cent. devaluation of the green pound.
§ Mr. BishopRetail food prices are affected by many factors, including the extent to which market prices are influenced by institutional prices and the costs410W of processing and distribution, and it is not possible to make firm forecasts. But the following broad estimates can be made of the retail equivalent of changes in first-hand wholesale prices after full implementation of the proposals. About one-third of these may be attributed to the price proposals for 1977–78, and about two-thirds to the proposed devaluation of the green pound.
Pence Beef 1 lb +1 to +2 Bread (28 oz. loaf) +¼ to +½ Butter 1 lb. +5 to +5½ Cheese 1 lb. +4½ Eggs 1 doz. +1¼ (standard) Flour 1 lb. +¼ to +½ Milk 1 pint. Nil Pigmeatl lb. 1 lb. +1 to +1½ Sugar 1 Kg. +2