§ Mr. JamiesonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what percentage of beef provided for the armed services is(a) of British origin, (b) of EU origin and (c) of Argentinian origin; [16907]
(2) what factors are used in determining the country of origin of beef consumed by the armed forces. [16908]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotThe procurement of food for the armed forces is currently contracted to the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes. My Department does not specify the source or origin from which the NAAFI should obtain beef, or any other meat, but expects it to seek the best market prices for the products. There are no constraints on the choice of British meat products which are considered 719W equally with meat products sourced generally in the open market. The majority of our requirements are, however, for frozen beef.
The British market deals predominantly in fresh beef and consequently does not normally offer frozen British beef at the most competitive prices. As a result, most of our requirements are sourced from south America—mainly Brazil and Uruguay—New Zealand and Australia. A limited range of beef products including sirloin, foreribs, minced and diced beef are currently procured in the UK on value for money grounds. No records are kept of the volumes or percentages provided from the UK, EU or South America and this will, in any event, vary dependent upon markets providing the best value for money.