§ Sir Richard BodyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what estimate he has of the proportion of bulbs imported from the Netherlands and examined by plant health inspectors to ensure that they are soil-free;
(2) whether he will list the seaports and airports where Dutch bulbs have been imported in 1987; and whether sufficient plant health inspectors have been available to examine each consignment.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonIn the last import season, which ended in February, our plant health and seed inspectors examined just under 10 per cent. of all consignments of bulbs imported from the Netherlands. They checked for plant pests and excess soil. The inspectors work to a planned pattern of import checks on representative samples of a wide range of plants, bulbs, vegetables and so on, and covered this satisfactorily; it is not considered necessary to check each consignment of imported bulbs.
The main ports of arrival for Dutch bulbs last year were Felixstowe, Dover, Harwich and Hull although small quantities may have been imported through other points of entry. Most inspections of imported bulbs are carried out at the importer's premises or nurseries.
§ Sir Richard BodyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has received any representations from individual customers of companies in the Netherlands about the state of bulbs they have imported from the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonNo.
§ Sir Richard BodyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has any plans to propose any change before 1992 in the system of inspecting bulbs imported from other EEC countries
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§ Mr. Donald ThompsonI have no basic changes in mind at present, but our overall system of import inspections is flexible and can be adapted to meet particular needs.