Food and Drink
Exporters
(Dewsbury) (Con)
9. What steps he is taking to support food and drink
exporters.
(Cleethorpes) (Con)
10. What steps he is taking to help agrifood businesses export
their goods.
The Minister for Farming, Fisheries and Food ()
I am sure the whole House will join me in welcoming the news that
the US market is reopening its doors to UK lamb after two decades
of restrictions. We want people at home and abroad to line up to
buy British. We are establishing an export council and expanding
our network of agrifood attachés.
New Zealand currently exports £4.8 billion-worth of meat per
annum, including £1.8 billion-worth to the Muslim world via a
national scheme. Will the Minister agree to meet me and the
Minister for Exports, my hon. Friend the Member for Finchley and
Golders Green (), to discuss setting up a
similar UK-wide scheme that could potentially open up millions of
pounds’ worth of exports for our farming industry?
I would, of course, be delighted to meet my hon. Friend, as I
have in the past. He is a great trade envoy to Pakistan. We work
very closely on this with Ministers in the Department for
International Trade, and we see significant opportunities for
British agriculture in markets across the world, including the
US, Japan, India and the middle east. We will be well represented
at the Gulfood exhibition in February.
Exporting agrifood is fairly straightforward if it is wholly
produced in the UK. Where part of it is imported from the EU or
elsewhere, there are complicated rules of origin. What is the
Minister doing to improve the situation so that exporting becomes
much easier?
There is no doubt that the rules of origin are complicated. We
regularly meet our colleagues in the EU to discuss issues raised
by our exporters, and we work collaboratively to resolve them
where we can. We have also set up a new export support service to
help businesses navigate the EU’s requirements. I would be
delighted to meet any hon. Member who has a constituent with a
specific problem.
(Rutherglen and Hamilton
West) (Ind)
Free trade agreements like the one with New Zealand are the
biggest contributor to British farmers needing to improve
productivity. What recent discussions has the Minister had with
colleagues across Government on protecting farmers’ interests in
future agreements? As I said, we work very closely with
colleagues, particularly in the Department for International
Trade, and I am confident they understand the issues raised by
our farmers.
