§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made since the publication of Cmnd. 6003—"Membership of the European Community-Report on Renegotiation"—in discouraging the creation of surplus stocks and enacting measures to discourage surplus production of milk products and cereals; and what was the tonnage of surplus stocks in 1974 and 1993 together with the annual cost of storage and the losses incurred on their disposal for export or industrial use.
§ Mr. JackSince 1979, the common agriculture policy has seen a number of changes, including, in 1984, the introduction of milk quotas. The other most notable change was the 1992 CAP reform agreement, which was a major development in moving the CAP closer to the market and reducing dependence on intervention. The agreement included significant reductions in support prices for major commodities and other measures to cut excess production, such as a limit to the total arable area eligible for direct support, coupled with a requirement to set land aside, and livestock premium quotas.
Tables showing levels of all produce held in intervention within the EU, including cereals and milk products, are deposited in the Library of the House monthly, most recently on 5 December. The information currently held in the House Library goes back to January 1985. Figures for earlier years were not prepared on the same basis.
449WThe budgetary cost of intervention in the cereals and milk sectors which would include storage costs and losses on resale, for the years 1974, EC9 and 1993, EC12 are:
1974 1974 1993 1993 mua £ million mecu £ million Cereals 323.6 163.6 2,724 2,142 Milk products 342 168 294 231 Exchange rates:
1974: 1 ua = £0.491712
1993: 1 ecu = £0.78627