§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to the answer given to the right hon. Member for Strangford (Mr. Taylor),Official Report, 20 October, columns 281–82, what percentage of eggs produced for the second quarter of 1989 were classified as free range; and what steps he is taking to encourage free range egg production.
§ Mr. CurryInformation on free range egg production is available only on an annual basis. In 1988 registered egg packing stations marketed under the description "free range eggs" (as defined in Commission Regulation (EEC) 1943/85) around 796,000 boxes of 360 eggs each. This figure is just under 3 per cent. of the estimated United Kingdom packing station throughput for the same period.
Any encouragement for the expansion of free range egg production must come from the customer rather than the Government.