asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the decline per capita in the consumption of beef and lamb, respectively, since January 1973.

Between January-March 1973 and October-December 1973, the latest period for which provisional total consumption figures are available, per capita consumption of beef and veal—edible weight—has risen by 3 per cent. and per capita consumption of mutton and lamb has fallen by 17 per cent.