§ Mr. Canavanasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the amounts and value of surplus food in the Common Market; and what are the average amounts and for each year since United Kingdom entry to the European Economic Community.
§ Mr. Buchanan-Smith[pursuant to his reply,15 May 1980, c. 629]: Information has been assembled for the three years 1978, 1979 and the current position in 1980. Following tables relate to 661W stocks held under public intervention and aided private storage measures for food-
TABLE 1 EC INTERVENTION AND PRIVATE STORAGE: STOCK VOLUMES (thousands of tonnes) 1978 1979 1980 Butter … … … … … … … 403.9 348.3 301.8 Skimmed milk powder … … … … … 663.7 217.9 153.4 Wheat … … … … … … … 1,053.3 1,821.2 1,415.0 Rye … … … … … … … 596.7 548.7 394.3 Notes
- (i) The stock figures above are those for the end of 1978 and 1979 and the latest May figures available for 1980.
- (ii) Stocks in May 1980 could reflect seasonal variations and are not necessarily directly comparable with those for the earlier years.
- (iii) Sugar eligible for storage refunds has not been included because refunds relate to an orderly marketing, rather than an intervention buying and storage, measure.
TABLE 2 EC INTERVENTION AND PRIVATE STORAGE: STOCK VOLUMES (millions of ECUs) 1978 1979 1980 Butter … … … … … … … 1,150.9 992.5 860.0 Skimmed milk powder … … … … … 768.5 252.3 177.6 Wheat … … … … … … … 181.8 319.1 260.6 Rye … … … … … … … 98.2 91.6 69.4 Notes
- (i) Stocks in Table 1 have been valued at the common intervention prices in ECUs in the years in question. For cereals in 1978 and 1979 the December intervention prices have been used and for the 1980 figure the May 1980 intervention price. The 1978 common prices have been converted into ECUs at the rate of 1 UA= 1.208953 ECUs.
- (ii) No reliable estimate can be made for sugar.