§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the total expenditure by the EEC Agricultural Fund on dairy products in 1977 and 1978 and what is the estimate for 1979; and what percentage of the figures represents the financing of surpluses or the cost of dumping surplus production on world markets.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithThe total expenditure by the EEC Agricultural Fund on dairy products in 1977 and 1978 was 403W 2,924.1 million European units of account (mEUA) (£1,911.5 million) and 4,014.7 mEUA (£2,665.4 million) respectively; the Budget appropriations for 1979 are 3717.6 mEUA (£2,495.0 million).
The expenditure in question relates to a range of measures taken in connection with Bthe Community's dairy surplus, including public and private storage and aids towards the subsidised disposal of milk and milk products. Of these totals, 48.5 per cent., 390 per cent, and 42.3 per cent, respectively represent expenditure in respect of export refunds including food aid. The rates used for converting EUAs to £s are as follows: 1977–1.52975, 1978–1.50623 and 1979–1.49.