§ Mr. Gouldasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish the results of the review of the banana licensing arrangements, with particular reference to the effects of any changes on the banana industry in the Windward Islands.
§ Mr. FletcherFollowing consultations with a wide range of interested parties, revised import licensing arrangements for bananas were adopted from 1 October. More competition has been introduced by making the quota for bananas from restricted sources (the so-called dollar area) available to a larger number of traders than hitherto. A significant share, however, continues to be allocated to importers of bananas from Jamaica and the Windward Islands, who give effect to the Government's long-standing obligations to those countries to maintain their preferential position on the banana market in the United Kingdom. The changes to the licensing arrangements for dollar area bananas do not undermine this preferential position.