§ Mr. Spearingasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, pursuant to his reply, Official Report, 24th April, column 432, he will now obtain from the Commissioners of the EEC and publish in the Official Report the figures to show for each year since 1973 the quantities and qualities of wheat disposed of by the EEC to world markets at a cost to the Community, showing for each years the units of account spent in furtherance of such sales and the approximate sterling equivalent at the then exchange rate.
§ Mr. BishopAs I told my hon. Friend on 24th April 1978, this information is not available in the form requested.—[Vol. 948, c. 431–2]. However, information relating to the figures requested by my hon. Friend, on the quantities of wheat disposed of by the EEC to world markets, was published by the Statistical Office of the European Communities in the Eurostat series in the Commission's Yearbook of Agricultural Statistics 1977, for years 1972–73 to 1975–76, and in Crop Production 1/78, for year 1976–77. EEC statistics do not identify separately the quantities exported with the aid of an export refund. The figures are as follows:
EEC EXPORTS OF COMMON WHEAT AND WHEAT FLOUR TO THIRD COUNTRIES August/July years Million tonnes 1972–73 7.1 1973–74 5.2 1974–75 7.5 1975–76 9.0 1976–77 (provisional) 4.5 Note: Exports of flour are expressed in terms of wheat equivalent.
Information relating to the Community's expenditure on export refunds on cereals is contained in the Sixth FEOGA Annual Report (R/3005/77), for years 1973–76. EEC statistics do not identify expenditure on wheat and flour separately from expenditure on other cereals. The figures are as follows: