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Isoglucose

Volume 928: debated on Tuesday 22 March 1977

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asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what effect the proposed levy of £56 per tonne on isoglucose would have on current production of isoglucose within the EEC and in particular in the United Kingdom; what effect the cessation of production of isoglucose would have on job prospects in the United Kingdom; and what effect the levy would have on (a) consumer prices in the United Kingdom, particularly of manufactured goods and soft drinks and (b) competition against United Kingdom exports of foods and soft drinks.

Present cost information suggests that such a rate of levy would render existing production uneconomic. The effect on job prospects would depend on the alternative production possibilities at the two United Kingdom plants at which production is planned. At the present relative prices of sugar and isoglucose the effects on consumer prices and exports would be small.