§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each of the past six years and at the present time the difference between the support price for sheepmeat and the market price.
§ Mr. Gummer[pursuant to his reply, 21 April 1986, c. 43]: The European Community's sheepmeat regime was introduced on 20 October 1980. Support levels are set by the Council of Ministers, and expenditure is reimbursed from Community funds. The following figures show the amount by which the average market price fell short of the guide price in the relevant marketing years.:
Year p/kg 1981–82 18.0 1982–83 56.0 1983–84 75.0 1984–85 43.0 1985–86 66.0 Before October 1980 the support arrangements for sheep were provided under the United Kingdom's fat sheep guarantee scheme. Because the change in arrangements occurred during 1980, there is no comparable figure for 1980–81. However, the avearage market price in that year fell short of an average of the guaranteed and guide prices by 15.0p/kg.
The average market price for the week beginning 14 April 1986 is currently forecast as being 6.6p/kg higher than the seasonal guide price, but because of seasonal variations this is not an indication of the eventual figure for the marketing year.