§ 22. Mr. Peter AtkinsonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when she plans to meet her French counterpart to discuss subsidies to French pig producers.
§ Mr. JackMy right hon. Friend has no plans to discuss aid being paid to French pig producers with the French Minister for Agriculture but we have questioned the legality of the aid at meetings of the Council of Agriculture Ministers in October 1993 and January 1994.
§ Mr. McGradyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps she will take to improve the pig industry; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. JackPig producers in the European Community operate in a free market and their prices are determined by supply and demand. Production levels are high at the moment, because of recent expansion in most member states, including the United Kingdom. Producer prices will improve once supplies are cut back.
The European Commission has just announced a programme of special export refunds to Russia, Ukraine and Belorous which will remove 40,000 tonnes of pigmeat from the Community market.
The pig industry also benefits from Government spending on research and development in the pig sector. Spending in the current year by the Agriculture Departments amounts to £14 million. A further amount is spent by the Agriculture and Food Research Council.