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Farm Bankruptcies
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many bankruptcies of farmers there were in each year from 1990 to 1999; and what percentage this represented of the total number of farmers in England. [136592]
Ms Quin [holding answer 6 November 2000]: Data on bankruptcies are available only for England and Wales combined, and are given in the table. Estimates of the number of farmers in England and Wales are not directly available. Instead, bankruptcies have been expressed as a proportion of the number of registered agricultural holdings.
| Year | Bankruptcies of self-employed individuals | Company(3) insolvencies | Total | Bankruptcies as a percentage of number of holdings(4) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 198 | 111 | 309 | 0.2 |
| 1991 | 266 | 135 | 401 | 0.2 |
| 1992 | 313 | 191 | 504 | 0.3 |
| 1993 | 277 | 157 | 434 | 0.2 |
| 1994 | 231 | 166 | 397 | 0.2 |
| 1995 | 218 | 99 | 317 | 0.2 |
| 1996 | 168 | 89 | 257 | 0.1 |
| 1997 | 155 | 51 | 206 | 0.1 |
| 1998 | 157 | 65 | 222 | 0.1 |
| 1999 | 149 | 75 | 224 | 0.1 |
(2) Source: Department of Trade and Industry
(3) Including partnerships
(4) Source: June Agricultural and Horticultural Census
Fertilisers
Mr. Chope: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent representations he has received about the effect of import tariffs on ammonium nitrate upon the price of fertilisers for agriculture; and if he will make a statement. [136963]
Mr. Morley [holding answer 6 November 2000]: I have received representations from the Fertiliser Manufacturers Association and the National Farmers' Union on this matter. We have registered concern with the Commission at the possibility that it may seek to impose anti-dumping measures on a range of fertiliser products and have called for an assessment of the wider state of competition in the fertilisers market.
Cattle Passports
Mr. Todd: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what the unit cost is of each passport issued by the British Cattle Movement Service. [136844]
Ms Quin: The unit cost of each passport issued by the British Cattle Movement Service is £7.73.
Mr. Todd: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many replacement passports have been issued by the British Cattle Movement Service; and what income has been received from charges for these replacements, since the establishment of the service. [136843]
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Ms Quin: The British Cattle Movement Service has re-issued 380,779 passports since it was established on 28 September 1998. 4,133 have been charged for, generating an income of £206,650. BCMS does not charge for replacement passports that are reported as lost in the post within one calendar month of being issued.
Eggs
Mr. Gill: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the extent of the United Kingdom's self-sufficiency in egg production. [137581]
Ms Quin: In 1999 the United Kingdom produced 94 per cent. of its egg market requirements.
Mr. Gill: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many registered egg producers have traded in each of the past 10 years. [137579]
Ms Quin: Under EC egg marketing legislation egg producers are required to register their premises only if they intend to use any of the Special Marketing Terms such as Free Range or Barn. Producers of eggs from cage systems are not included in the table.
| Financial year | Number of premises |
|---|---|
| 1992 | 1,168 |
| 1993 | 1,162 |
| 1994 | 1,046 |
| 1995 | 1,057 |
| 1996 | 1,027 |
| 1997 | 1,055 |
| 1998 | 1,081 |
| 1999 | 1,161 |
| 2000 | 1,252 |
In 1998, MAFF data show over 25,000 holdings with laying hens.
Mr. Gill: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what volume of eggs was imported into the United Kingdom in each of the last 10 years. [137582]
Ms Quin: The quantity of eggs imported into the United Kingdom in each of the last 10 years is as follows:
| Year | Number of eggs imported |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 73 |
| 1991 | 50 |
| 1992 | 41 |
| 1993 | 49 |
| 1994 | 67 |
| 1995 | 66 |
| 1996 | 72 |
| 1997 | 70 |
| 1998 | 64 |
| 1999 | 69 |
Data include shell egg equivalent of whole (dried, frozen and liquid) egg, egg yolk, and albumen.
Mr. Gill: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the trend in ex-farm prices for fresh eggs over the past 10 years. [137580]
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Ms Quin: The average ex-farm price for all egg types for each of the last 10 years is as follows:
| Year | All egg type average |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 42.6 |
| 1991 | 36.3 |
| 1992 | 36.8 |
| 1993 | 41.9 |
| 1994 | 42.4 |
| 1995 | 38.3 |
| 1996 | 45.8 |
| 1997 | 39.6 |
| 1998 | 36.3 |
| 1999 | 34.2 |
Wheat
Mr. Chope: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the average (a) market price and (b) cost of production, per tonne of wheat in the last 12 months. [136965]
Ms Quin [holding answer 6 November 2000]: The average farm-gate price of bread-making wheat in the UK during the last 12 months was £82.39 per tonne. The average price of feed wheat was £68.86 per tonne. Current prices are, however, lower than this. In addition to receipts from the sale of the crop, most producers received revenues from area payments and straw sales.
Estimates of production costs are published in "Farm Incomes in the United Kingdom". The latest published information relates to the 1998-99 marketing year. Estimates for the 1999-2000 marketing year will be published in the next edition in March 2001. The publication does not include information on fixed costs, because of the difficulty of allocating these items between commodities.
BSE
Mr. Gill: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will publish the results of research involving embryos from BSE-affected cows fertilised by BSE bulls, implanted into heifers imported from New Zealand. [137575]
Ms Quin: Preliminary results from this research project have already been published 1 . All of the post mortem results obtained to date for implanted heifers and their offspring have been negative for BSE. The experiment is still on-going and will continue until June 2001 when the offspring will have reached seven years of age. Full results will be published once the analysis of the data is complete.
1 Wrathall, AE(2000): Livestock Production Science 62,287-316
Swine Fever
Mrs. Shephard: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will introduce legislation to provide for a levy from pig farmers as part of a package of compensation for swine fever. [138098]
Ms Quin: The industry is about to begin consultations on a levy-based Development Scheme that will be used to top up Government payments under the Pig Welfare
13 Nov 2000 : Column: 464W
(Disposal) Scheme. On completion of that consultation exercise, including addressing any objections, Ministers will be asked to decide whether to put a scheme before Parliament for approval. I cannot anticipate the outcome of these procedures, but in general terms we support efforts by the livestock industry to protect itself from the consequences of outbreaks of exotic animal diseases.
Closed Circuit Television
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many rural communities have been provided with Government funds for CCTV since 1997; and how many of such communities have populations of (a) less than 5,000 and (b) less than 2,000. [136757]
Mr. Charles Clarke [holding answer 6 November 2000]: I have been asked to reply.
Since 1997, under the Crime Reduction Programme, the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) Initiative and the final round of the CCTV Challenge Competition, this Government have awarded nearly £1.7 million to 23 CCTV schemes serving rural communities. These include coverage in small towns and villages and mobile units that can be deployed across wider rural areas. Information is not available as to the sizes of the populations covered.
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