§ The Earl of Onslowasked Her Majesty's Government:
How much is the subsidy on each tonne of wheat or barley grown in the United Kingdom and found by the EC including storage costs and export substitutions.
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Lord Belstead)There are no subsidies paid directly to producers for cereals production. The market prices of wheat and barley in the UK are supported by means of a system of intervention purchases, levies on imports and refunds on exports. Details of this expenditure can be found in the Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce's annual reports. The report for 1984 shows, at Table 26, that the total expenditure on cereals in the United Kingdom borne that year by the European Community was nearly £171 million. The report for 1985 is due to be published in June.