§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the total amount of(a) pesticides and (b) fertilisers sold each year for the past 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [16293]
§ Mrs. BrowningThe current and constant price series given in the table show estimates of sales of pesticides and fertilisers for agricultural use in the UK. The constant price series are valued at the prices of pesticides and fertiliser in 1990. This is the best guide to changes in volumes as different types of fertiliser and pesticide are weighted according to their relative values in 1990.
637W
Value of UK purchases for agricultural use Current prices, £ million Constant 1990 prices, £ million (a) Pesticides (b) Fertilisers and lime (a) Pesticides (b) Fertilisers and lime 1987 360 788 429 825 1988 440 745 506 753 1989 482 781 530 801 1990 459 807 459 807 1991 440 776 399 794 1992 428 675 375 729 1993 449 615 386 693
Value of UK purchases for agricultural use Current prices, £ million Constant 1990 prices, £ million (a) Pesticides (b) Fertilisers and lime (a) Pesticides (b) Fertilisers and lime 1994 443 715 365 765 1995 443 777 377 747 19961 459 823 372 716 1 Provisional.
§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the progress of his Department's search for cattle associated with BSE cases to be culled under the terms of the Florence agreement; how many cattle have been identified so far; what is his latest estimate of the likely total; how many farms are involved; and what is his estimate of the time scale for completing this search and concluding the accelerated cull. [16320]
§ Mr. Baldry[holding answer 18 February 1997]The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has responsibility for conducting the cull throughout Great Britain. The reply is therefore on a Great Britain-wide basis.
On-farm visits to natal herds in which a confirmed case of BSE was born started in the week beginning 27 January. The total number of cattle that have been identified through these visits as having been exposed to the same feed as BSE cases is 4,439. Of this number, 199 animals have so far been confirmed as exposed by the central veterinary unit: 71 of these are still in the natal herd; 128 have moved and need to be traced further. The latest estimate of the number of cattle affected in Great Britain is 90,000 to 100,000. However, the true number of animals affected can be determined only by on-farm visits.
There are natal herds in over 7,000 farms in Great Britain. Farms which have bought in exposed animals will also be affected. Again, the number of such farms can be established only through visits to the natal herds and subsequent tracing visits.
It is very difficult at this early stage to estimate the length of time it will take to conclude the cull.