§ Ms. QuinTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proportion of United Kingdom potato production was treated with tecnazene in 1988 and in any of the previous five years for which figures are available.
§ Mr. RyderNo figures are available for the 1988 crop. Figures available from the 1986 crop in Scotland indicate that some 20 per cent. of stored ware potatoes were treated with tecnazene. This proportion is likely to be similar in the rest of the United Kingdom. New potatoes and main crop potatoes which are sold to consumers without being stored will not have been treated with tecnazene.
In 1982 the latest year to which figures are available for England and Wales, they indicate that some 5 per cent. of potatoes stored on farms were treated with tecnazene but no data is available for off-farm stores. A further survey of the current use of tecnazene is planned for the 1988 crop.