HC Deb 14 May 2002 vol 385 cc559-60W
Paul Flynn

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her estimate is of the changes in revenues received by the(a) farming and (b) tourism industries as a result of foot and mouth disease and the events of 11 September 2001. [54840]

PQ 5942—UK imports of milk and milk produce (1999–2002)
1999 2000 2001 2002(Jan-Feb)
Product type Tonnes £000 Tonnes £000 Tonnes £000 Tonnes £000
Liquid milk and milk product
Buttermilk 22,537 22,148 26,120 26,623 28,859 25,654 2,498 2,280
Condensed milk 14,046 12,087 14,937 16,611 14,002 15,449 1,834 1,932
Skimmed milk 54,051 13,890 21,813 5,572 12,604 5,085 1,984 640
Whole milk 84,378 19,999 104,199 23,141 80,007 19,479 4,442 1,434
Total 175,012 68,124 167,068 71,946 135,471 65,667 10,759 6,287

Mr. Morley

It is difficult to separate out the effects of either of these events and estimates will depend on a range of assumptions. The best estimates that we have made, in conjunction with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is that foot and mouth imposed economic costs of some £3.1 billion on UK agriculture and the food industry (of which some £2.6 billion was met by the Exchequer). In the case of businesses dependent on tourism the economic losses were estimated at between £2.7 billion and £3.2 billion as a result of estimated loss of revenue of £4.5 billion to £5.3 billion. The overall losses to the economy will have been much smaller than these estimates as expenditure on trips to the countryside (by UK visitors) which were foregone because of foot and Mouth appear to have largely been replaced by spending elsewhere in the economy, either in alternative tourist locations or on goods and services unrelated to tourism.

There are no comprehensive estimates of the effects of the events of 11 September on tourism or farming. However the International Passenger Survey reports that overseas residents' total expenditure on visits to the UK was down by 19 per cent. for the three months September to November 2001 and 13 per cent. for December to February 2002 compared to the same periods in 2000.