§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what value was attached to the dollar in terms of the market rate for the European currency unit for the current European Economic Community budget; how this compares with the current value; and what is the relationship between the value of the dollar and expenditure under the budget.
89W
§ Mr. GummerIn drawing up their estimates of agricultural expenditure for the 1986 budget the Commission assumed a rate of 1.20 ecu to the US dollar. For the week ending 29 April 1986 the rate was 1.03 ecu to the dollar.
The prices for commodities in world markets are commonly expressed in US dollars so a fall in the dollar generally leads to increased Community expenditure on export refunds and aids in certain sectors, while a rise in the dollar tends to reduce expenditure. However a change in the value of the dollar sometimes causes an offsetting movement in world prices which means that there is not a simple relationship between the value of the dollar and agricultural expenditure.