§ Mr. Nicholas BennettTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the current state of the dairy sector.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonNet income from dairy farming in 1988–89 is estimated to have risen in real terms to its highest level since 1982–83. Improvements in profitability have resulted in recent years from increases in the ex-farm price of milk, reduced usage of feed concentrates and improved returns from calf sales. In addition, the dairy sector as a whole is benefiting from the recovery in markers brought about by the restriction of supply through quotas and the disposal of old intervention stocks of milk products.