§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proportion of Britain's bananas are imported from the Windward islands; and what calculations he has done on the difference in prices between Windward island bananas and those from other sources and of any extra cost falling on the British consumer of Windward island bananas.
§ Mr. CurryWindward island bananas accounted for about 52 per cent. of total United Kingdom banana imports in 1990.
The table compares the United Kingdom retail price with the retail price for bananas in four other European countries—France, Germany, Denmark and Italy—during the most recently available period. These are the only countries for which retail price data (i.e. the cost to consumers) are available, but the five countries considered do account for 73 per cent of EC imports of bananas, and include virtually all sources which supply the EC market. Each country imports bananas from a different mix of sources: France is supplied mostly by her own growers in the Caribbean and the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, but also takes some from Latin America (the "dollar" area); Germany and Denmark are supplied entirely by dollar producers; Italy is mostly dollar but with some ACP.
564W
Retail price (pence/pound)1 September 1989—August 1990. pence United Kingdom 50.8 France 53.7 Germany2 42.5 Denmark 55.2 Italy3 59.1 1 Converted from national currencies at average market exchange rates valid for each month in question. 2 Germany is exempted from a 20 per cent. tariff which applies to all other EC imports of dollar bananas.
3Adjusted to exclude a consumption tax levied then but now abolished.