§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his statement in European Standing Committee A on 12 February,Official Report, column 2, what is the approximate annual production in 633W the European Union of raw tobacco and its cost to the common agricultural policy in (i) ecus and (ii) pounds sterling; and what are the annual figures for the three most recent years for which figures are available for (a) quantities of tobacco consumed within the European Union and (b) the tonnage exported to each of the principal export destinations. [16022]
§ Mr. BaldryThe latest figures available on EU tobacco production are for the 1994 harvest when 337,091 tonnes were produced. The current annual cost of the tobacco regime is approximately 1 billion ecus or £750 million'. For the three most recent years for which figures are available, the quantities of tobacco consumed within the European Union and the tonnages exported to principal destinations were as follows:
tonnes 1993 1994 1995 EU consumption2 497,789 560,434 485,297 Total EU exports 195,882 192,362 272,179 Principal export destinations: Russia 32,832 9,449 19,024 USA 26,021 19,370 21,188 Algeria 15,553 14,645 17,791 Egypt 14,415 38,933 13,564 Romania 14,370 7,067 3,689 Switzerland 8,860 11,704 12,117 Japan 8,597 8,208 9,583 Poland 7,259 9,321 12,359 Hungary 4,653 2,727 80,204 South Africa 944 1,863 13,864 Source: Eurostat. Notes: 1Using an exchange rate of 1 ecu = £0.7493. 2Consumption, based on production and imports minus exports.