§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to what extent the decline in fruit production indicated in his reply of 20 May, Official Report, c.177, on horticultural output is due to competition from other European Economic Community countries and how much to the high price of fruit; what effect the contraction has had on the number of holdings in the fruit industry and on the number of persons engaged in it; and for how long he expects the decline to continue.
§ Mrs. FennerMany factors will have combined to determine production trends of the wide range of different kinds of fruit over the period covered by the information given to the hon. Member on 19 May. It is not possible to isolate the effects of competition from overseas supplies or from price. Information is not available about the number of holdings growing fruit or the number of employees on these holdings.