§ Mr. Peter Millsasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a start on revaluing the green pound, in view of the problems being faced by British farmers on all production fronts and not just pig producers.
§ Mr. BishopMy right hon. Friend has always made clear that he has no objection in principle to changing the United Kingdom representative rate, but we believe that the timing and extent of any change must be judged according to the overall national interest. In considering the balance of arguments we shall, of course, take full account of the needs of agriculture, together with the wider interests of the country as a whole.
§ Mr. Peter Millsasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the effects of the artificially low level of the green pound on the agricultural industry in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BishopAgriculture in Northern Ireland is influenced by a great many factors and the effects of the green pound cannot be reliably assessed. My right hon. Friend and I recognise the special circumstances of Northern Irish agriculture, and we shall continue to take these into account in decisions about the representative rate.
§ Mr. Peter Millsasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the effects of the artificial level of the green pound on the home production of beef and imports of beef from the Republic of Ireland; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BishopOn the basis of the present representative rate, appropriate intervention buying-in prices and target prices for premium have been implemented for the current beef marketing year, and they are supporting the market and producers' returns at the present time. United Kingdom beef imports from the Irish Republic have been influenced by the gap between the representative rates in the United Kingdom and the838W Irish Republic. It is not possible to say how far the size of the gap has affected the level of these imports, bearing in mind that over 1977 as a whole there has also been an increase in Irish beef production and a decrease in United Kingdom beef production compared with 1976.
§ Mr. Peter Millsasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimates he has made of the effects of the artificial level of the green pound on the pigmeat industry; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BishopMy right hon. Friend and I are, of course, fully aware of the pressure of imports on the profitability of our pigmeat production and processing industries. In our view, this arises less from the level of the green pound, which also helps the producer by restraining cereals prices, than from the fact that monetary compensatory amounts on pig-meat are calculated on the wrong basis. We are continuing our efforts to secure a fairer method of calculating these amounts.
§ Mr. Peter Millsasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what estimate he has made of the effects of the artificial level of the green pound on milk production; and if he will make a statement; (2) what estimate he has made of the effects of the artificial level of the green pound on levels of food production in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BishopProduction is affected by many factors, including the weather, the cost of inputs, technological progress and market conditions, as well as by the value of the green pound. I cannot usefully speculate on how much production might have varied under different combinations of these factors.
§ Mr. Peter Millsasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimates he has made of the effects of the artificial level of the green pound on future employment levels in agriculture; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BishopThe long-term trend of employment levels in agriculture has been and still is one of gradual decline. The recent manpower report of the Agriculture EDC recognises that this long-term 839W trend will continue into the 1980s, although at a lower rate of decline. Short-term fluctuations in the green pound level have an insignificant effect upon this long-term trend.
§ Mr. Peter Millsasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the effects of the artificial level of the green pound on levels of imports of agricultural produce from the rest of the EEC; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BishopSuch imports depend on many factors, including the levels of domestic demand and production, the foreign exchange value of sterling, and
840W
Body Salaried Fee-Paid Unpaid Agricultural Chemicals Approval Scheme (Insecticides, Fungicides and Herbicides): Scientific Advisory Committee — — 7 Agricultural Colleges: Governing Bodies— Chadacre Agricultural Institute — — 1 Harper Adams Agricultural College — — 1 Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester — — 1 Seale Hayne Agricultural College — — 1 Shuttleworth College — — 1 Wye College — — 1 Agricultural Land: Committee of Inquiry into the Acquisition and Occupancy of — — 11 Agricultural Mortgage Corporation Ltd. 2* — — Agricultural Research Institutes: Governing Bodies— Animal Virus Research Institute — — 7 Glasshouse Crops Research Institute — — 14 Grassland Research Institute — — 13 Houghton Poultry Research Station — — 9 National Fruit and Cider Institute (Long Ashton Research Station) — — 3 National Institute of Agricultural Engineering — — 14 Plant Breeding Institute — — 10 Agricultural Statistics Consultative Committee — — 7 Agricultural Training Board 1 — 26 Agricultural Valuation Committee — — 12 Agricultural Wages Board — 5 — Agricultural Wages Committees — 62 — Agriculture and Horticulture in England and Wales: Advisory Council for — — 12 Apple and Pear Development Council 1* 20* — Badgers and Tuberculosis: Consultative Panel on — — 14 British Sugar Corporation 3* — — Central Council for Agricultural and Horticultural Co-operation 2 12 — Committees of Investigation for Great Britain and for England and Wales — 7 — Consumers' Committees for Great Britain and for England and Wales — — 12 Covent Garden Market Authority 8 — — Coypu Strategy Group (Ad Hoc) — — 6 Eggs Authority 13 — — Experimental Horticulture Stations: Advisory Committees — — 95 Experimental Husbandry Farms: Advisory Committees — — 122 Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Committee — — 17 Farm Settlements: Smallholdings Advisory Committee for Selection of Tenants — — — Fisheries Research and Development Board — 1 5 Flood Protection Research Committee — — 9 Food Additives and Contaminants Committee — 13 — the availability of supplies in the other member States. The separate effects of the green pound cannot be realiably assessed.