§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the effects of a removal of the quota system on British dairy farmers. [131819]
§ Ms Quin[holding answer 21 July 2000]In the run up to the Agenda 2000 CAP negotiations the Ministry commissioned The University of Manchester to carry out a study on the milk quota system. In its report 'An Economic Evaluation of the UK Milk Quota System' it concluded that despite the fact that conditions in the UK are well suited to milk production, the imposition of milk quotas is a source of economic inefficiency.
In addition to this, the UK, together with Italy, Sweden and Denmark, produced a paper that concluded that the abolition of the milk quota system would provide greater flexibility in the dairy market, encourage investment in the UK dairy industry and leave it free to compete for a share of the growing world markets.