§ Mr. Peter DuncanTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assistance is available to farmers to facilitate development of potential new markets to be opened by EU enlargement. [57305]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Department offers various forms of assistance to farmers wishing to develop export markets, both in the EU candidate countries and more widely. These include mounting a UK agriculture presence at overseas trade fairs, leading trade missions overseas and organising inward missions of foreign buyers and opinion formers. Events have been organised in two EU candidate countries over the last year, and future events are planned at world fairs to which buyers from the candidate countries are known to go. We are currently considering further options of promoting the UK agriculture industry in these markets.