§ Lord Wade of Chorltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the total value of export sales of beef which have been lost to United Kingdom companies since the imposition of the export ban; and what tonnage does that figure represent.
Lord LucasIt is not possible to determine precisely the value or volume of beef exports which would have taken place if the ban on British beef had not been applied. Assuming, however, that exports would have followed the same pattern as in 1995, lost fresh, chilled and frozen beef exports in the 12 weeks since the ban was put in place can be estimated at 60,000 tonnes product weight, worth approximately £130 million.