Hansard

Food: Wheat

Volume 703: debated on Wednesday 16 July 2008

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The Duke of Montrose

asked Her Majesty’s Government:

What is the current wheat resource in the United Kingdom and the European Community; and what that represents in terms of days of consumption. [HL4807]

The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(Lord Rooker)

UK wheat stocks at the end of June 2008 have been forecast by Defra to amount to some 1.9 million tonnes. This represents around 52 days of UK wheat consumption. EU wheat stocks have been forecast by the European Commission at some 15.7 million tonnes. This represents around 53 days of EU wheat consumption.

Wheat available for consumption in the year 1 July 2008 to 31 June 2009 will be a combination of the stocks at the end of June 2008, production from the 2008 UK harvest and imports. It is not possible to forecast wheat production at this stage, but the Defra December 2007 survey of agriculture estimates that wheat plantings for the 2008 harvest were 10 per cent higher than the year before.