§ Mr. Crawfordasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many pig farmers there were in Scotland at the latest convenient date.
§ Mr. Hugh D. BrownIn December 1976 there were in Scotland 2,278 holdings on which pigs were being kept.
§ Mr. Crawfordasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what would be the annual cost to the Exchequer of a further 50p per score increase in Scottish pig producers' returns.
§ Mr. Hugh D. BrownWere a further 50p per score increase in Scottish pig producers' returns to be assured by an increase of that amount in Government subsidy, the additional annual cost to the Exchequer would be about £2.6 million for pigs produced and certified in Scotland.
§ Mr. Crawfordasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the per tonne cost of the following pig breeding feedstuffs on 1st February 1976 and 1st February 1977: barley, soya and fish meal; and how these figures compared with those paid by Danish farmers in the corresponding periods.
§ Mr. Hugh D. BrownI regret that the information for these specific dates is unavailable; the January average prices are set out in the table below:
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FEEDING STUFFS (PIGS) PRICES (£ per tonne) Average of prices at Leith and Glasgow 1976 (January average) 1977 (January average) £ £ Barley 60.09 78.50 Soya bean meal 99.06 170.10 Fish meal 170.10 321.50 Average Danish price* Barley 73.46 108.76 Soya bean meal 87.99 158.73 Fish meal 171.98 307.10 * Converted from Danish kroner at the spot rate for the months in question.
§ Mr. Crawfordasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many pigs, cutter and otherwise, from Scottish farms were slaughtered in the latest years for which figures are available.
§ Mr. Hugh D. BrownThe information is set out in the table below. Figures for cutter pigs are not available separately. Total slaughterings of pigs from Scottish farms for the three latest available years were as follows:
YEAR TO MAY ('000 PIGS) 1975–76 … … … 835 1974–75 … … … 917 1973–74 … … … 1,014