§ Mr. Nicholas BrownTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will state(a) the price at which British wholesalers buy wine per 75 cl bottle, (b) what she estimates the price of wine per bottle would be in a free market without European Community price intervention, (c) the levels of European Community production and consumption of wine, (d) the level of common agricultural policy expenditure on wine subsidies and (e) the cost to the British Exchequer of European Community intervention in the wine sector.
§ Mr. JackThe price at which British wholesalers buy wine is a matter for commercial negotiation and varies by consignment.
It is not possible to estimate the price of wine without European Community price intervention for the reasons given in my reply to the hon. Member for The Wrekin (Mr. Grocott) on 11 January at columns 65–6.
The European Commission estimates that European Community wine production in the 1992–93 wine year was 184 million hectolitres—mhl—that 127 mhl was consumed as wine in the EC, net exports were 7 mhl and other uses—for example, vinegar, vermouth and eaux de vie—15 mhl.
197WTotal common agricultural policy expenditure in 1993 on the wine regime was 1,510 million ecu—£1,186 million —provisional outturn.
The Exchequer cost of CAP support for wine in the United Kingdom is estimated at £591,000 for the 1993–94 financial year. The United Kingdom also contributes to the European Community budget as a whole, which funds the cost of the wine support system in other member states.