Milk Losses (Weather Conditions)

HC Deb 02 February 1982 vol 17 cc111-2W

Mr. Morgan

asked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what information he has as to how many millions of litres of milk were lost by the Milk Marketing Board in Wales as a direct result of the extreme weather conditions of December 1981 and January 1982;

what information he has as to the monetary loss suffered by milk producers in Wales as a direct result of the extreme weather conditions of December 1981 and January 1982;

whether, from the information available to him, he will estimate what proportion of the milk lost by the Milk Marketing Board in the United Kingdom as a whole as a direct result of the extreme weather conditions of December 1981 and January 1982 was lost in Wales.

Mr. Nicholas Edwards

I am advised by the Milk Marketing Board that there were no significant milk losses in Wales attributable to adverse weather in December. As a result of the January blizzards, the board estimates that some 7 million litres of milk were lost in Wales at an approximate value of £1 million. This represents roughly two-thirds of the estimated loss in December and January in the United Kingdom as a whole.