Lord Chelwoodasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will estimate the cost to the British taxpayer (ignoring any rebate from the European Community) of growing approximately nine million tons of wheat and barley this year surplus to our domestic requirements, including that of buying it in at intervention prices and storing it for a year, and what positive measures on what scale they now propose to reduce substantially the area now devoted to growing these crops.
§ Lord BelsteadIt is estimated that availability of grain in 1984–85 will exceed consumption by some 9.5 million tonnes. The proportion of this total bought into intervention will depend on developments on the home market and in export demand. Last season the United Kingdom exported some 4.9 million tonnes of grain, and, although the rate of export so far this year has been encouraging, it is impossible to predict accurately how much will be achieved in the season as a whole. Community expenditure on supporting the cereals sector in 1984 is estimated at 1,935 million ecus. The United Kingdom contribution to the Community budget would be some 22 per cent. Provisional figures for 1985 are 2,672 million ecus and 22 per cent. respectively. The problems of the cereals sector are a Community matter which must be tackled by the Community as a whole. The Government will continue to argue for a clear and long-term policy of price restraint.