asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food v/hat additional costs have been created for the United Kingdom dairy industry by the recent rise in fertiliser prices ; and what action he proposes to enable producers to offset these increased costs.

The increased cost to dairy farmers of fertilisers is one of the factors being taken into account in the comprehensive examination of costs which is carried out as part of the annual review. The measures needed will be decided and announced in the light of the review.