Mr. John D. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if the industrial development boards have made representations to countries in the middle east to accept milk products from Northern Ireland; what support is being given to Pritchitt Foods in Newtownards; how many redundancies have been announced at its plant in Newtownards; what is the impact of the Gulf crisis on exports by the Northern Ireland milk industry; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Needham[holding answer 12 November 1990]: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer given him by my hon. Friend the Member for Skipton and Ripon (Mr. Curry) on 24 October at column 211. Representations to countries in the middle east to accept milk products from Northern Ireland have been made by the Ministry for Agriculture and Food, rather than the Industrial Development Board, as the restrictions are the result of bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
Since 1984 the IDB has offered financial assistance to Pritchitt Foods totalling £1,941,040 towards three capital investment projects and three R and D projects. In addition, the company has been offered financial support totalling £125,970 on nine applications for marketing support assistance.
Since 1 January 1988, the IDB's ability to assist the company financially has been constrained by EC restrictions on member states grant aiding dairy companies manufacturing the type of products in which Pritchitt Foods specialises.
On 15 October 1990 the company announced 40 redundancies.
One other Northern Ireland dairy company has been affected by the embargo on trade with Iraq and only in a marginal way. It has succeeded in diverting its products to alternative export markets.