APPENDIX 19
Supplementary Memorandum submitted by
the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (S 29)
1. In your letter of 4 May you asked for
information available on MAFF on the impact on UK producers of
the removal of export subsidies. This followed Joyce Quin's offer,
in her evidence to the Committee, to provide any available information
in this area.
2. Analysis carried out within MAFF on this
subject relates to the recent Commission Communication to the
Council setting out the Commission's ideas on managing WTO restrictions
on export subsidies for processed products. This contains a targeted
approach to scaling back export refunds for certain products.
MAFF undertook an economic assessment of the impact of these proposals
on the UK food processing industry and the knock-on effects for
agriculture. The conclusions are described in the attached note.
3. A much wider evaluation of the importance
of export refunds for processed products has been carried out
by CEAS Consultants (Centre for European Agricultural Studies,
based at Wye College). I attach a copy [not printed]. Table 6.7
on page 124 gives a good indication of the most vulnerable food
product groups if export refunds were to be withdrawn. This study
was carried out at the request of the European Commission, but
was not published by them; copies are however available on request
from the Commission's Enterprise Directorate and the study can
therefore be considered to be within the public domain.
2 June 2000
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