§ Mr. Teddy TaylorTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement outlining350W the arrangements for protecting potato growing in the United Kingdom, giving the amount of potatoes withdrawn from the market over the past 12 months and the cost of such withdrawals.
§ Mr. Donald Thompson[holding answer 16 June 1988]: In Great Britain potato market support involves control by the Potato Marketing Board (PMB) of the area planted and intervention by the board to remove potatoes from the market in times of surplus. The Government set a target area each season to be planted by producers registered with the PMB and the board must ensure as far as possible that that area is planted. Intervention is triggered when market prices are below the support prices set by the Government. The Government share the cost of market support with the PMB up to 500,000 tonnes each season on the following basis:
Size of surplus (000 tonnes) 0–200 201–300 301–500 Board's share (percentage of tonnage) 100 50 0 Government's share (percentage of tonnage) 0 50 100 Over the past 12 months the board has removed just over 150,000 tonnes of potatoes from the market. The cost is estimated to be about £6 million, which will be met entirely by the board from its levies on registered potato producers.
Separate market support arrangements exist in Northern Ireland, involving intervention, financed by the Government, if average market prices for the season are likely to be below a specified target price. No potatoes have been withdrawn from the market in the last 12 months.