§ 46. Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food by what percentage exports of beef and wheat from the European Economic Community to Russia in 1980 to date have exceeded or been less than the comparable exports in the same period of 1979; and what has been the total subsidy paid on these exports.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithAs my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary replied to the hon. Member on 30 June, the quantities of wheat exported in 1979 and 1980 are 5,000 tonnes and 460,000 tonnes respectively. In January the European Community decided to support the United States embargo on exports to the Soviet Union and accordingly no additional subsidised exports to the Soviet Union have taken place. The European Commission figure of 460,000 tonnes relates to export subsidies authorised in 1979 and the first two weeks of 1980 but taken up subsequently. It may be regarded as a reasonable estimate of subsidised exports for the whole of 1980.
For beef the Commission's 1980 estimates referred only to commitments to export subsidies issued after the introduction of new arrangements in February 1980. The figure for the first haif of 1979 was for actual exports. No precise comparison is therefore possible for beef.
The cost of subsidies related to the Commission's figures is not separately identifiable but has been tentatively estimated at some £15 million for wheat. In the case of beef, the variables are such that a meaningful figure is not available.