HC Deb 18 December 1981 vol 15 cc243-5W
Mr. Peter Mills

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the average market price for beef, lamb, pigmeat, milk, barley and wheat for the year 1981 up to November.

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

The latest available estimates are set out in the following table:

Commodity Average market price* in the United Kingdom
Beef (p. per kg. liveweight)† 86.8
Lamb (p. per kg. estimated dressed carcase weight)‡ 148.7
Pigmeat (p. per kg. deadweight)** 92.0
Milk (p. per litre)║ 13.7
Barley (£ per tonne)¶ 101.3
Wheat (£ per tonne)¶ 107.7

Notes:

* For beef, lamb, pigmeat, barley and wheat, weighted average prices are for the 10 months January to October 1981; for milk, see footnoteob/.

† The weighted average price for all clean cattle.

‡ The weighted average price for animals certified under the sheep variable premium scheme.

* * The average market price for clean pigs.

║ Provisional average net return to producers in the United Kingdom for the whole of the calendar year 1981, after deduction of Milk Marketing Board transport and administrative costs.

¶ The weighted average ex-farm prices of United Kingdom wheat and barley.

Mr. Peter Mills

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the average intervention or guaranteed price for beef, lamb, pigmeat, milk, barley and wheat for the year 1981.

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

The information requested is set out in the following table:

Commodity Average institutional price* in the United Kingdom
£ per tonne
Beef (liveweight)† 892.27
Lamb (deadweight)‡ 1,914.68
Pigmeat (deadweight)* * 779.98–919.94
Milk║ 138.98 (14.31p/litre)
Barley¶ 103.38
Wheat (breadmaking)# 115.40
Wheat (other)¶ 103.38

Notes:

* Average institutional prices weighted according to the number of days of application, and converted from ECUs to sterling at the United Kingdom green rate—1ECU=£0.618655.

† The time weighted average of the average intervention buying-in price for all current intervention grades.

‡ The guide price for certified sheep (deadweight); the guide price is seasonalised on a weekly basis. It is expected that, weighted on a throughput basis, the guide price for 1981 would be in the region of £1,890.

* * These figures represent 78 per cent. and 92 per cent. respectively of the basic price. In principle, and under certain circumstances, the Commission may activate intervention buying within this range; in practice intervention has not taken place in the pig sector in recent years.

║ Milk equivalent of the intervention price.

¶ Average of the monthly intervention prices.

# Average of the monthly reference prices for wheat of minimum breadmaking quality.