asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list, for every year since 1945, the degree of agricultural self-sufficiency, as measured by the percentage of food consumed in Great Britain which is imported.

Estimates of the percentage of food consumed which is imported are available only on a United Kingdom basis and on a strictly comparable basis since 1955–56. The percentages do not measure overall agricultural self-sufficiency, which would be affected by other factors, notably exports of agricultural products and the proportions of non-food agricultural products such as animals, animal feed and wool, which are imported. The information is as follows: