§ Dr. McDonaldasked the Secretary of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will estimate the effects on the balance of payments in the short run, and taken in the long run, of a 10 per cent. devaluation of the green pound.
§ Mr. BishopWith the prices and quantities of agricultural production, consumption and trade in prospect for 1978–79 the increase in foreign exchange144W expenditure in that year might be of the order of £75 million. In the longer-term I would expect a saving on the balance of payments as consumption and production responded to higher prices, but the extent of such a saving cannot be estimated precisely.