HC Deb 18 July 1991 vol 195 c488
7. Mr. Gregory

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any plans to make an official visit to York to discuss current confectionery industry issues.

Mr. Curry

I am always ready to discuss confectionery issues in York and elsewhere.

Mr. Gregory

Is my hon. Friend aware of the great concern in the city of York among the 6,500 employees in the confectionery industry about the problem of counterfeiting? While British products such as KitKat have become kit kit and kit kier, those jobs are at risk. Will he talk to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to ensure that there are adequate safeguards for good British products and that appropriate action is taken, especially in the middle east and the far east?

Mr. Curry

I appreciate my hon. Friend's concern about shady snacks in the souks, if I may put it like that. He will know that the protection of intellectual property which covers precisely that issue is an important element of the GATT talks. I shall certainly undertake to point out to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry the importance of the problem for the industry, which I know is important in my hon. Friend's constituency. I shall certainly do all that I can to prevent such a theft of jobs from the United Kingdom and from Yorkshire, to which I am particularly attached.