HC Deb 29 June 1988 vol 136 cc270-1W
Mr. Cohen

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give details of European Economic Community intervention food held in(a) Dagenham, (b) Hornsey, (c) Leyton and Stratford, (d) Tottenham Hale and (e) Hackney.

Mr. Donald Thompson

At 31 May 1988 stocks were as follows:

Mr. Gummer

The wide range of EC tariff measures applying—customs duty, concessionary rates, and tariff quotas—are set out in the United Kingdom tariff, available in the Library of the House. The non-tariff measures in respect of each type of fruit and vegetable are as follows:

  1. (a) the reference price system: a form of minimum import price, applied seasonally to 20 products: artichokes, aubergines, cabbage lettuce, courgettes, cucumbers, endives, tomatoes, apples, apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums, table grapes, clementines, mandarins, lemons, satsumas and sweet oranges.
  2. (b) Import licences: apples are currently subject to import licences which were introduced earlier this year as a means of surveillance. The European Commission has now extended these arrangements by introducing quantitative limits on supplies from third countries up to 31 August 1988. Certain third countries have exceeded their quantitative restrictions and import licences for supplies from these countries have been suspended.
  3. (c) Quality Standards: products for which quality standards are laid down in Community legislation may be imported only if they conform to the quality standards for "Extra" class, class I or class II or to standards at least equivalent. The products are apples and pears, artichokes, apricots, asparagus, aubergines, beans, brussels sprouts, cabbages, carrots, cauliflowers, celery, chicory, cherries, citrus fruit, courgettes, cucumbers, garlic, table grapes, leeks, lettuces, curled-leaved endives, broad-leaved (Batavian) endives, onions, peaches, peas, plums, strawberries, spinach, sweet peppers and tomatoes.