HC Deb 16 January 1989 vol 145 cc59-60W
Mr. Teddy Taylor

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish a table showing the sale prices, in pence per pound, of the sales of food and wine agreed by the management committee since he last reported on these to the House.

Mr. MacGregor

At any one time CAP arrangements provide for a number of sales schemes from intervention and from the open market. These tend to follow established patterns, but the following sales to non-EC countries, agreed since I last replied to my hon. Friend on this subject on 8 November at column 155, have distinguishing features;

acreage of land which will be affected by the set-aside scheme in 1989; what reductions in the production of wheat will stem from the scheme; and what is his estimate of the sums to be expended by the United Kingdom Government and by the European Economic Council; respectively.

Mr. Ryder

We have received applications to set aside about 60,000 hectares of arable land in the United Kingdom in the current crop year, at an estimated cost of over £11 million in 1989–90. About 42 per cent. of this expenditure would be eligible for reimbursement from Community funds. It is too early to judge what the impact of set-aside will be on wheat or other arable crop production in this country.