§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will give a breakdown of the country of origin of meat bought for the armed forces, in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement; [20243]
(2) if he will ensure that all meat bought for the armed forces is of United Kingdom origin; and if he will make a statement. [20244]
§ Mr. SpellarThe procurement of food for the Armed Forces is contracted to Booker Foodservice which took over the contract from NAAFI on 1 October 1997. The Ministry of Defence does not specify the source from which Booker Foodservice should obtain meat, but expects it to seek the best market prices for these and all other products. It is required to give full consideration to British products. Booker Foodservice has advised the following estimate for the breakdown of country of origin for meat purchased for the Armed Forces, based on value, for the 12-month period ending September 1998:
Per cent. Pork United Kingdom 100 Lamb New Zealand 52 Uruguay 48 Beef Australia 30 New Zealand 24 Uruguay 22 United Kingdom 13 Holland 4 Ireland 4 Brazil 3 These figures will be subject to variation dependent upon markets providing the best value for money.