Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Taylor of Holbeach (Conservative). It was answered on Tuesday, 25 March 2008.

Food: Grain Stocks

Question: My Lords, to what extent do the Government see pressure on grain supplies as a permanent shift? There is increased demand for livestock products worldwide, a drive to biofuels, and a refinery to be opened in the north-east of England shortly that will take over 5 per cent of our wheat crop in 2009. Does that mean that grain production will be at a premium in future? Other than the set-aside proposals, what policy changes do the Government have in mind to deal with that?

Answer: My Lords, the noble Lord is right in terms of policy changes. The basic reason has been the last two harvests. Three years ago the grain stocks were 330 million tonnes, so 80 million tonnes have gone in three years, generally speaking as a result of those two poor harvests. That caused the Ukraine and Russia to stick on export controls, which had an adverse effect as well. There will be volatility regarding animal feed stocks for some time. Relatively speaking, all livestock producers will be similarly affected, although pigs and poultry are obviously more dependent on the crops than cattle and sheep. The difficulties will all be treated the same, because this is a world commodity with world prices.

Secondary information