HC Deb 24 February 1992 vol 204 cc372-3W
Mrs. Clwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessments have been carried out of the impact of food aid on markets for locally produced food, on the development of the marketing system and on the prices that farmers receive in the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Mrs. Chalker

EC food aid is being sold through free market mechanisms so as to bolster the development of a market infrastructure which will greatly assist the development of distribution systems and thus benefit local producers. No formal assessment has yet been carried out of the impact of this on emerging markets, as the process of providing food aid on a large scale is as yet in its infancy, and time is needed to assess its full effect.

Mrs. Clwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the total level of counterpart funds raised from the sale of food aid from all western donors in the Commonwealth of Independent States; and what mechanisms exist within the Overseas Development Administration, the EC and other bodies to monitor the use of these counterpart funds.

Mrs. Chalker

Unofficial estimates suggest that over 400 million roubles may be generated by the sale of food so far delivered under the European Community's 200 mecu (£140 million) food aid package for Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities. These counterpart funds will be used to provide direct aid for needy groups such as families and pensioners—an approach which we endorse. The fund will be monitored by the Community task force which currently oversees the entire food aid operation. We are pleased to see that more staff have been made available to the European Commission in this area.