asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many farm co-operatives there are in the United Kingdom; what is the size of acreage under these co-operatives; and what is the value of this output per year.

There are two categories of co-operatives in agriculture. Co-operative societies are registered under the

							Number	Output 1973–74
								£
Mainly requisite co-operatives		…	…	…	…	…	124	308,343,000
Mainly marketing co-operatives		…	…	…	…	…	431	345,236,000
Mainly service co-operatives	…	…	…	…	…	…	33	42,821,000*
Unincorporated production groups		…	…	…	…	…	500/600 (estimate)	—
* This includes NFU Mutual Insurance £37,127,000.

Information about acreages is not available.The latest available statistics are set out in a boklet published by the Plunkett Foundation for Co-operative Studies entitled "Agricultural Co-operation in the United Kingdom; Summary of Statistics 1973–74". I have sent a copy of this booklet to my hon. Friend and have placed a copy in the Library.