§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the current tonnage and value of the EC tobacco mountain; if he will list the places where it is stored; what will be its eventual destination; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. CurryThe European Commission's most recent figures show 36,480 tonnes of tobacco in intervention. Definitive figures for intervention of the 1990 and 1991 crop are not yet available. The tobacco is held in a number of intervention stores, mainly in Italy and Greece. Its market value depends on the state of the market when it is put up for sale by tender by the Commission. Destination is a matter for the purchaser who is not obliged to inform the Commission.