HC Deb 17 June 1996 vol 279 c369W
Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the countries outside the European Union which ban the importation from the UK of bull semen; and what steps have been taken in each case to persuade those countries to lift the ban. [31617]

Mrs. Browning

The following countries are known to have banned the importation of bull semen from the UK prior to the introduction of the EC ban:

  • Argentina
  • Australia
  • Bulgaria
  • China
  • Costa Rica
  • Iran
  • Jamaica
  • Japan
  • Kenya
  • Mexico
  • Paraguay
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Uruguay

In addition, the former USSR had imposed a ban. Lithuania and the Ukraine have effectively carried this forward by requiring five-year country freedom from BSE as a condition of import.

The health conditions for the importation of bull semen into third countries from the United Kingdom are determined by the countries concerned. Prior to the introduction of the EC ban, the Department was conducting negotiations with those countries for which we had trade interest.

Now that the EC ban—as it affects semen exports—has been lifted, the Department is writing to the veterinary authorities of those third countries to which UK businesses have expressed a wish to resume exports of bull semen.