§ Sir Jim LesterTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what tonnage of beef has been imported since March 1996; and what were the figures for the comparable period in 1995. [197]
§ Mr. BaldryImports of beef' into the United Kingdom for the periods April to June 1995 and 1996, as recorded in the overseas trade statistics, are as follows
1995: 69,000 tonnes1996: 60,000 tonnesThese figures are provisional.Branch C, Statistics (Commodities and Food) Division, Economics and Statistics Group.1Beef includes the following; beef carcase meat; bovine offal; and beef meat and bovine offal preparations.
§ Mr. SteenTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many inspectors his Department sent to those countries importing beef into the United Kingdom to examine their farms and slaughterhouses in order to assess their compliance with EU regulations. [258]
§ Mrs. BrowningNone. The import of beef into the United Kingdom is subject to harmonised Community rules. For intra-Community trade, responsibility for ensuring premises comply with those rules lies with the competent authority in the member state of origin. Responsibility for auditing member states' controls, and for inspecting red meat premises in third countries approved to export beef to the Community, currently rests with the Office of Veterinary and Phytosanitary Inspection and Control of the European Commission.
§ Mr. SteenTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which countries outside the EU exported beef to the United Kingdom in each of the last three years; and in what quantities. [255]
§ Mr. BaldryImports of beef1 into the United Kingdom from countries outside the EU in each of the last three years, as recorded in the overseas trade statistics, are as follows:
Thousands of tonnes Country 1993 19942 19952 Brazil 58 41 45 Argentina 14 15 28 Uruguay 8 8 13 Zimbabwe 14 9 12 Australia 10 9 10 Botswana 7 5 7 Namibia 5 5 6 New Zealand 3 3 5 Mauritius 2 5 5 USA 2 3 4 Other 4 2 2 1Beef includes the following; beef carcase meat; bovine offal; and beef meat and bovine offal preparations. 21994 and 1995 data are provisional.