§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government on the export of subsidised butter to the Soviet Union in 1983.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithThe Government remain totally opposed to permitting any subsidised exports of butter to the USSR.
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the total tonnage of food and wine which was exported by the European Economic Community to the Soviet Union in the most recent annual period for which figures are available; and what were the comparable totals for the previous five years.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithIn my reply of 8 June—[Vol. 25, c.26-28]—I provided figures of tonnages of the main foods exported from the Community to the Soviet Union for the period 1976–80. Figures are still not available for 1981 and as I explained in my reply of 15 July—[Vol. 27, c. 445-6]—figures for 1975 are not readily available. The addition of tonnages of foods of different types does not provide a valid measure of the total volume of trade. Tonnages of wine exported from the Community to the USSR are as follows:
Year Tonnage 1976 182 1977 179 1978 10,429 1979 49,620 1980 132,459 Source: Eurostats.
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is satisfied with the statistical procedures of the European Economic Community commission in estimating the volume of subsidised butter sent to the Soviet Union; and if, in particular, he is satisfied with the Commission estimate that only 87 tonnes of butter and butter oil were sent to the Soviet Union in 1981.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithYes, I have no reason to doubt the efficiency of the Commission's statistical procedures and that 87 tonnes is a fair estimate of direct exports of butter and butter oil from the Community to the USSR in 1981.
§ Mr. Marlowasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what powers he possesses to prevent the subsidised export of United Kingdom agricultural exports to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; and whether he has any plans to use such powers.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerI have no such powers.
§ Mr. Marlowasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the means by which the European Economic Community embargo on subsidised exports of butter to the Union of 62W Soviet Socialist Republics has been evaded, setting out the volumes involved, the period of time after which this has occurred and the value of subsidy paid.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithI am aware of the press reports based on USSR trade statistics suggesting that Community butter may have reached the USSR by re-export from third countries at a time when export subsidies to the USSR were suspended. There is no reliable basis on which to establish the volumes or the amounts of subsidy which might have been involved in such re-exports.