Mr. Wellsasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many consignments of horticultural produce have been rejected at the ports or elsewhere on grounds of plant health during the last convenient period of 12 months.
§ Mr. Strang:In England and Wales during 1976 there were 602 instances where our inspections of imported fruit, vegetables — excluding potatoes — bulbs 198W and cut flowers revealed evidence of pests or disease. In each case appropriate measures were taken to safeguard plant health in this country, notably by either rejecting the consignment in whole or in part or requiring it to be fumigated.