§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many people have been employed in the dairy industry in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.
§ Mr. CurryMy Department collects figures only For the farming part of the dairy industry. These are as follows:
Employment in dairy farming1 England and Wales Thousands 1983 116.6 1984 113.8 1985 107.9 1986 105.6 1987 99.4 1988 93.8 1989 90.5 1990 88.7 1991 86.7 1992 82.6 1 Specialist dairy and mainly dairy farms: excluding minor holdings, which accounted for less than 5 per cent. of total agricultural employment (mainly from part-time working) when last surveyed in 1989. Note: Part-tiome numbers have not been reduced to full-time equivalents.
Source: June Agricultural and Horticultural censuses 1983 to 1992.