§ Mr. Martenasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much hard wheat, traditionally used in making the British loaf, is available in the EEC; what is the price of such wheat compared with the North American wheat; and what is the EEC import charge in £ sterling per tonne, taking into account levies, monetary compensation amounts and accession compensation amounts.
§ Mr. Bishop:About half of the United Kingdom bread grist consists of soft wheat produced in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the Community, the balance being provided mainly by North American strong wheats. Sufficient supplies of breakmaking wheat are available in the EEC despite unusually difficult harvest conditions. Owing to quality differences it is not possible to make a meaningful comparison between Community and North American prices.
The net charge on imports of third country wheat into the United Kingdom on 25th October was £37.05 per tonne.