asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now give an up-to-date assessment of the effect of the fowl pest epidemic upon the supply and retail prices of poultry during the pre-Christmas period.
The supply of poultry meat has, of course, been affected by the fowl pest epidemic. However, the main losses have been in broilers and most of the special Christmas trade is in turkeys, capons and ducks. I understand the trade is confident that there will be as many turkeys on the market this year as in 1969, and that ducks should also be in good supply. Capons may not however be so plentiful. It is expected that prices will be somewhat higher than last year, but it is impossible to say to what extent the increases may be due to fowl pest.