§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, further to his answer of 4 March, Official Report, column 393, concerning the formula used for calculating the levy on imported foodstuffs, whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the levy chargeable at the current time for all the common agricultural policy foodstuffs together with the monetary compensation amounts, the threshold prices and the world price.
§ Mrs. FennerThe information requested is set out for the main commodities in the table.
The import levies are shown after deduction of the monetary compensatory amount (MCA) and adjustment by the monetary coefficient: the MCA that has been deducted is shown separtely. The "world" prices shown are generally the lowest offer prices at the Community 609W frontier which underlie the Commission's calculation of the variable import levies. I would remind the hon. Member that these are the lowest prices recorded and it is likely that, on average, higher prices would have to be paid if larger quantities were to be purchased on world markets.
Levy and Monetary Compensatory Amount Applicable in the United Kingdom, Threshold Price and Notional "World" Price on 27 March 1985 for the Main Food Items covered by the Common Agricultural Policy £/tonne Commodity Levy applicable in United Kingdom* Of which monetary compensatory amount Threshold or equivalent price† Notional "world" price‡ Common wheat 47 -1 168 123 Barley 49 -1 154 107 Maize 41 -1 154 115 Rice 339 N/A 503 167 Sugar (white) ║287 -4 410 125 Olive oil 458 N/A 1,244 804 Butter ¶1,289 -20 2,215 940 Skimmed milk powder 607 -10 1,153 555 Beef and veal ●1,438 -18 2,358 976 Pigmeat 244 -5 1,258 971 Sheepmeat ▪— N/A 3,038 1,815 Poultrymeat 135 -2 874 754 Eggs 148 -3 788 653 Notes N/A=not applicable. All figures have been rounded to the nearest £. * The rates of levy vary for different tarriff headings. The rates quoted are: beef and veal—carcase; pigmeat—carcase; poultrymeat—70 per cent. chickens; rice—wholly milled long grain; olive oil— virgin lampante; eggs-in shell. Levies are shown after deduction of the monetary compensatory amount where applicable. † For commodities for which there is no threshold price the following have been taken: beef and veal—guide price converted to deadweight (using a killing-out percentage of 53.8 per cent.; pigmeat and sheepmeat—Basic price; poultrymeat and eggs—sluicegate prices and plus basic levy converted at the green rate of exchange. ‡ Notional "world" prices have been calculated by subtracting the levy applicable on 27 March from the "threshold" price. The beef price is also adjusted for duty. In the case of pigmeat, poultrymeat and eggs, the "world" price has been taken as the sluicegate price, less supplementary levy where appropriate. The resulting estimate has been converted from ECU/t at the appropriate market rate of exchange £0.632535=1 ECU. ║ In practice the United Kingdom's imports from third countries are normally covered by the Lorne convention and enter the Community levy-free. ¶ special lower rate of levy is applicable to imports of butter from New Zealand. ● Most imports of beef from third countries are subject to special arrangements allowing entry at reduced levy rates. ▪ Imports of lamb under voluntary restraint arrangements with principle suppliers and related agreements are subject to a reduced charge of 10 per cent. ad valorem. Any imports outside these arrangements are subject to levies which cannot exceed the 20 per cent. tariff bound in the GATT.