§ Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the estimated profit from a laying hen on a Northern Ireland farm for the 1980–81 financial year and for each of the preceding three years in cash and real terms, taking 1977–78 as 100.
§ Mr. Adam ButlerBecause of the high degree of vertical integration in the Northern Ireland egg industry, information is not available in the form requested. More than 90 per cent. of eggs are produced under contract or in company-owned units, and it is therefore not realistic to think in terms of profit per laying bird at the farm level.