To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government has made its proposed ban on the commercial import of foie gras produced by force-feeding conditional on the outcome of negotiations on a UK–EU sanitary and phytosanitary agreement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government has made its proposed ban on the commercial import of foie gras produced by force-feeding conditional on the outcome of negotiations on a UK–EU sanitary and phytosanitary agreement.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of measures requiring checks of large, mature tree imports as part of the UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement on preventing the introduction of novel pests or pathogens.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of measures requiring checks of large, mature tree imports as part of the UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement on preventing the introduction of novel pests or pathogens.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that imported food products do not use British branding.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that imported food products do not use British branding.

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a set of core standards for agri-food imports to ensure both fair competition for farmers and quality for consumers.

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a set of core standards for agri-food imports to ensure both fair competition for farmers and quality for consumers.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether UK imports of agricultural products from Mercosur countries will increase following the EU–Mercosur trade agreement.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether UK imports of agricultural products from Mercosur countries will increase following the EU–Mercosur trade agreement.

Motion that this House has considered the impact of import standards on the agricultural sector. Agreed to on question.

Motion that this House has considered the impact of import standards on the agricultural sector. Agreed to on question.

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the impact of import standards on the agricultural sector.

I am delighted to have secured today’s debate. I am very grateful to all colleagues who signed my application, and to the Backbench Business Committee for granting time. I am happy to take interventions...

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the impact of import standards on the agricultural sector.

I am delighted to have secured today’s debate. I am very grateful to all colleagues who signed my application, and to the Backbench Business Committee for granting time. I am happy to take interventions...

I commend the hon. Gentleman for bringing this matter forward; he is absolutely right to underline these issues. Does he not agree that the recent EU-Mercosur deal opens the EU market to increased imports of agricultural products such as beef, poultry, sugar and ethanol under tariff-rate quotas? That may well...

I commend the hon. Gentleman for bringing this matter forward; he is absolutely right to underline these issues. Does he not agree that the recent EU-Mercosur deal opens the EU market to increased imports of agricultural products such as beef, poultry, sugar and ethanol under tariff-rate quotas? That may well...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, who makes his point well. I will touch on EU regulations later.

Our Labour Government have a stellar record on this issue so far. In negotiations with India, we refused to lower protections on goods such as pork, chicken and eggs. In talks with...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, who makes his point well. I will touch on EU regulations later.

Our Labour Government have a stellar record on this issue so far. In negotiations with India, we refused to lower protections on goods such as pork, chicken and eggs. In talks with...

My hon. Friend mentions food imports and illegal imports. Next month will be the 25th anniversary of the devastating foot and mouth outbreak. Nowhere knows better than my Carlisle and north Cumbria constituency just what happens when foot and mouth takes hold. Does my hon. Friend agree that illegal meat...

My hon. Friend mentions food imports and illegal imports. Next month will be the 25th anniversary of the devastating foot and mouth outbreak. Nowhere knows better than my Carlisle and north Cumbria constituency just what happens when foot and mouth takes hold. Does my hon. Friend agree that illegal meat...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for highlighting the biosecurity aspect of this issue. My farmers, too, have been significantly impacted by foot and mouth disease in the past, and I know how important an issue that is. She puts her point on the record.

I was talking about potential...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for highlighting the biosecurity aspect of this issue. My farmers, too, have been significantly impacted by foot and mouth disease in the past, and I know how important an issue that is. She puts her point on the record.

I was talking about potential...

I was at Noble Foods last week, as part of the National Farmers Union’s food and farming fellowship programme. The issue, it was explained, is not just lower welfare standards. We need to ensure that eggs are safe. My hon. Friend is too young to remember it, but I remember...

I was at Noble Foods last week, as part of the National Farmers Union’s food and farming fellowship programme. The issue, it was explained, is not just lower welfare standards. We need to ensure that eggs are safe. My hon. Friend is too young to remember it, but I remember...

I could not agree more with my hon. Friend. I remember doing that scheme myself last year. It was incredibly valuable, and I encourage other colleagues to do it. The NFU is doing a brilliant job. Polls show that consumers do not want low-welfare imports either; nine in 10 people...

I could not agree more with my hon. Friend. I remember doing that scheme myself last year. It was incredibly valuable, and I encourage other colleagues to do it. The NFU is doing a brilliant job. Polls show that consumers do not want low-welfare imports either; nine in 10 people...

I will start by setting the scene to explain why we import so much food and why we are not self-sufficient.

We are never going to be self-sufficient in food—certainly not in bananas or avocados, but not in some meat sectors either. Although we produce very large quantities of lamb and...

I will start by setting the scene to explain why we import so much food and why we are not self-sufficient.

We are never going to be self-sufficient in food—certainly not in bananas or avocados, but not in some meat sectors either. Although we produce very large quantities of lamb and...

In Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme, agriculture is a key part of our local economy and our identity. The Isle of Axholme alone consists of 50,000 acres and is characterised by a mix of intensive agricultural land, including significant arable land, and a historical, unique system of open-field...

In Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme, agriculture is a key part of our local economy and our identity. The Isle of Axholme alone consists of 50,000 acres and is characterised by a mix of intensive agricultural land, including significant arable land, and a historical, unique system of open-field...

Diolch yn fawr, Madam Dirprwy Lefarydd. I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests; as most hon. Members know, I am a dairy and sheep farmer from west Wales. I am very aware of the volatility of markets and its effect on our sector....

Diolch yn fawr, Madam Dirprwy Lefarydd. I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests; as most hon. Members know, I am a dairy and sheep farmer from west Wales. I am very aware of the volatility of markets and its effect on our sector....

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North West Cambridgeshire (Sam Carling) for securing this vital debate and for his thoughtful speech, and I extend that to other hon. Members who have spoken in the debate, too. It is an important opportunity for us to consider an issue that...

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North West Cambridgeshire (Sam Carling) for securing this vital debate and for his thoughtful speech, and I extend that to other hon. Members who have spoken in the debate, too. It is an important opportunity for us to consider an issue that...

The hon. Member highlights an important point about the challenges of potential welfare labelling. If imports are not labelled in the same way, as they probably would not be, British producers could be put at a disadvantage when it comes to what a consumer might think about how something has...

The hon. Member highlights an important point about the challenges of potential welfare labelling. If imports are not labelled in the same way, as they probably would not be, British producers could be put at a disadvantage when it comes to what a consumer might think about how something has...

The hon. Member is absolutely right that we need to be careful how labelling will affect imported goods and therefore what the consumer sees in the supermarket. My take is that, if we educate consumers on the labelling for our standards and, if those labels are absent, what the implications...

The hon. Member is absolutely right that we need to be careful how labelling will affect imported goods and therefore what the consumer sees in the supermarket. My take is that, if we educate consumers on the labelling for our standards and, if those labels are absent, what the implications...

Does my hon. Friend agree that if we can unify our import standards with our domestic standards, that problem disappears in many ways? The standards will be the same and therefore we will not have labelling that might undermine our farmers.

Does my hon. Friend agree that if we can unify our import standards with our domestic standards, that problem disappears in many ways? The standards will be the same and therefore we will not have labelling that might undermine our farmers.