§ Mr. AingerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how much non-United Kingdom produced beef was purchased by his Department in 1995–96; and how much has been purchased in the current financial year; [910]
(2) if he will list the countries which have supplied beef to his Department in the financial years (a) 1995–96 and (b) 1996–97 indicating the amounts and value. [911]
177W
§ Mr. ArbuthnotThe procurement of food for the armed forces is contracted to the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes NAAFI. My Department does not specify the source of origin from which NAAFI should obtain beef or any other meat, but expects them to seek the best market price for the product. The majority of our requirements are for frozen beef, which is not readily available from the British market.
In the financial year 1995–96 and in the first six months of the current financial year NAAFI purchased some 1.45M kg of non UK beef, valued at £5.2 million. This was sourced primarily from South America, New Zealand and Australia.