Asked by: Huw Irranca-Davies (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his policy is on the recent EU ban on Indian mangoes.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
The ban was imposed following persistent interceptions of plant pestson imports of Indian produce into the European Union (EU) and critical reports from the European Commission's Food and Veterinary Office audits in 2010 and 2013. Despite assurances from India in response to these reports the level of interceptions remained high. The EU's decision to introduce a ban was therefore fully justified and supported by all Member States including the UK, in line with our policy of strengthening plant health controls. Therefore, no alternatives to a ban were considered by Defra.
Protecting plant health is a key Defra objective. Plant pests and diseases such as those intercepted from India in recent years can cause serious damage to the UK glasshouse industry which is worth over £300 million per annum. However, I am aware of the importance of the mango trade and Defra officials are liaising with the Indian High Commission on what support the UK can offer to India to help it ensure compliance with EU import requirements.
The following table shows the number of consignments of mangoes imported into the UK in the last five years which were infested with Tephriditae (and therefore rejected) by country of origin. The European Commission is considering similar measures to those taken against India for other countries with high levels of interceptions of plant pests. Such consideration takes account of findings from all Member States, and covers all plant commodities and all pests identified.
Year | Country of origin | No. of consignments imported into the UK | No. of consignments infected with Tephritidae |
2010 | Dominican Republic | 351 | 1 |
| India | 1977 | 1 |
| Jamaica | 228 | 3 |
| Pakistan | 3302 | 6 |
|
|
|
|
2011 | Dominican Republic | 417 | 2 |
| India | 1836 | 11 |
| Jamaica | 262 | 3 |
| Pakistan | 3690 | 19 |
| Puerto Rico | 1 | 1 |
| Sri Lanka | 144 | 1 |
| Uganda | 138 | 1 |
|
|
|
|
2012 | Bangladesh | 146 | 1 |
| Brazil | 445 | 1 |
| Costa Rica | 70 | 2 |
| Dominican Republic | 606 | 18 |
| Ghana | 628 | 15 |
| India | 3448 | 23 |
| Jamaica | 332 | 24 |
| Kenya | 2044 | 4 |
| Pakistan | 5128 | 81 |
| Philippines | 12 | 2 |
| Sri Lanka | 189 | 10 |
| St Lucia | 50 | 1 |
| Thailand | 1050 | 3 |
| Uganda | 104 | 2 |
|
|
|
|
2013 | Brazil | 316 | 3 |
| Dominican Republic | 756 | 16 |
| Ghana | 357 | 4 |
| Guinea | 7 | 1 |
| India | 3563 | 13 |
| Jamaica | 516 | 17 |
| Kenya | 1654 | 17 |
| Pakistan | 5910 | 47 |
| Puerto Rico | 104 | 1 |
| Sri Lanka | 111 | 3 |
| U A E | 1 | 1 |
| Vietnam | 77 | 1 |
|
| ||
2014 (to 18/06/14) |
| ||
| Brazil | 106 | 1 |
| Dominican Republic | 420 | 3 |
| Ghana | 271 | 1 |
| India | 401 | 1 |
| Jamaica | 464 | 9 |
| Kenya | 698 | 7 |
| Mexico | 61 | 1 |
| Senegal | 4 | 1 |
| Sri Lanka | 69 | 3 |
|
|
|
|
Source: Fera and Europhyt
Asked by: Huw Irranca-Davies (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether any alternatives to a full ban on the importation of Indian mangoes were (a) considered by his Department's officials and (b) put forward to European Commissioners.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
The ban was imposed following persistent interceptions of plant pestson imports of Indian produce into the European Union (EU) and critical reports from the European Commission's Food and Veterinary Office audits in 2010 and 2013. Despite assurances from India in response to these reports the level of interceptions remained high. The EU's decision to introduce a ban was therefore fully justified and supported by all Member States including the UK, in line with our policy of strengthening plant health controls. Therefore, no alternatives to a ban were considered by Defra.
Protecting plant health is a key Defra objective. Plant pests and diseases such as those intercepted from India in recent years can cause serious damage to the UK glasshouse industry which is worth over £300 million per annum. However, I am aware of the importance of the mango trade and Defra officials are liaising with the Indian High Commission on what support the UK can offer to India to help it ensure compliance with EU import requirements.
The following table shows the number of consignments of mangoes imported into the UK in the last five years which were infested with Tephriditae (and therefore rejected) by country of origin. The European Commission is considering similar measures to those taken against India for other countries with high levels of interceptions of plant pests. Such consideration takes account of findings from all Member States, and covers all plant commodities and all pests identified.
Year | Country of origin | No. of consignments imported into the UK | No. of consignments infected with Tephritidae |
2010 | Dominican Republic | 351 | 1 |
| India | 1977 | 1 |
| Jamaica | 228 | 3 |
| Pakistan | 3302 | 6 |
|
|
|
|
2011 | Dominican Republic | 417 | 2 |
| India | 1836 | 11 |
| Jamaica | 262 | 3 |
| Pakistan | 3690 | 19 |
| Puerto Rico | 1 | 1 |
| Sri Lanka | 144 | 1 |
| Uganda | 138 | 1 |
|
|
|
|
2012 | Bangladesh | 146 | 1 |
| Brazil | 445 | 1 |
| Costa Rica | 70 | 2 |
| Dominican Republic | 606 | 18 |
| Ghana | 628 | 15 |
| India | 3448 | 23 |
| Jamaica | 332 | 24 |
| Kenya | 2044 | 4 |
| Pakistan | 5128 | 81 |
| Philippines | 12 | 2 |
| Sri Lanka | 189 | 10 |
| St Lucia | 50 | 1 |
| Thailand | 1050 | 3 |
| Uganda | 104 | 2 |
|
|
|
|
2013 | Brazil | 316 | 3 |
| Dominican Republic | 756 | 16 |
| Ghana | 357 | 4 |
| Guinea | 7 | 1 |
| India | 3563 | 13 |
| Jamaica | 516 | 17 |
| Kenya | 1654 | 17 |
| Pakistan | 5910 | 47 |
| Puerto Rico | 104 | 1 |
| Sri Lanka | 111 | 3 |
| U A E | 1 | 1 |
| Vietnam | 77 | 1 |
|
| ||
2014 (to 18/06/14) |
| ||
| Brazil | 106 | 1 |
| Dominican Republic | 420 | 3 |
| Ghana | 271 | 1 |
| India | 401 | 1 |
| Jamaica | 464 | 9 |
| Kenya | 698 | 7 |
| Mexico | 61 | 1 |
| Senegal | 4 | 1 |
| Sri Lanka | 69 | 3 |
|
|
|
|
Source: Fera and Europhyt
Asked by: Huw Irranca-Davies (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which countries possess comparative levels of fruit fly infestation in exported mangoes and are not subject to an EU ban on importation.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
The ban was imposed following persistent interceptions of plant pestson imports of Indian produce into the European Union (EU) and critical reports from the European Commission's Food and Veterinary Office audits in 2010 and 2013. Despite assurances from India in response to these reports the level of interceptions remained high. The EU's decision to introduce a ban was therefore fully justified and supported by all Member States including the UK, in line with our policy of strengthening plant health controls. Therefore, no alternatives to a ban were considered by Defra.
Protecting plant health is a key Defra objective. Plant pests and diseases such as those intercepted from India in recent years can cause serious damage to the UK glasshouse industry which is worth over £300 million per annum. However, I am aware of the importance of the mango trade and Defra officials are liaising with the Indian High Commission on what support the UK can offer to India to help it ensure compliance with EU import requirements.
The following table shows the number of consignments of mangoes imported into the UK in the last five years which were infested with Tephriditae (and therefore rejected) by country of origin. The European Commission is considering similar measures to those taken against India for other countries with high levels of interceptions of plant pests. Such consideration takes account of findings from all Member States, and covers all plant commodities and all pests identified.
Year | Country of origin | No. of consignments imported into the UK | No. of consignments infected with Tephritidae |
2010 | Dominican Republic | 351 | 1 |
| India | 1977 | 1 |
| Jamaica | 228 | 3 |
| Pakistan | 3302 | 6 |
|
|
|
|
2011 | Dominican Republic | 417 | 2 |
| India | 1836 | 11 |
| Jamaica | 262 | 3 |
| Pakistan | 3690 | 19 |
| Puerto Rico | 1 | 1 |
| Sri Lanka | 144 | 1 |
| Uganda | 138 | 1 |
|
|
|
|
2012 | Bangladesh | 146 | 1 |
| Brazil | 445 | 1 |
| Costa Rica | 70 | 2 |
| Dominican Republic | 606 | 18 |
| Ghana | 628 | 15 |
| India | 3448 | 23 |
| Jamaica | 332 | 24 |
| Kenya | 2044 | 4 |
| Pakistan | 5128 | 81 |
| Philippines | 12 | 2 |
| Sri Lanka | 189 | 10 |
| St Lucia | 50 | 1 |
| Thailand | 1050 | 3 |
| Uganda | 104 | 2 |
|
|
|
|
2013 | Brazil | 316 | 3 |
| Dominican Republic | 756 | 16 |
| Ghana | 357 | 4 |
| Guinea | 7 | 1 |
| India | 3563 | 13 |
| Jamaica | 516 | 17 |
| Kenya | 1654 | 17 |
| Pakistan | 5910 | 47 |
| Puerto Rico | 104 | 1 |
| Sri Lanka | 111 | 3 |
| U A E | 1 | 1 |
| Vietnam | 77 | 1 |
|
| ||
2014 (to 18/06/14) |
| ||
| Brazil | 106 | 1 |
| Dominican Republic | 420 | 3 |
| Ghana | 271 | 1 |
| India | 401 | 1 |
| Jamaica | 464 | 9 |
| Kenya | 698 | 7 |
| Mexico | 61 | 1 |
| Senegal | 4 | 1 |
| Sri Lanka | 69 | 3 |
|
|
|
|
Source: Fera and Europhyt
Asked by: Huw Irranca-Davies (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the economic effect of the EU ban on importing Indian mangoes on UK businesses.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
The gross annual cost to UK businesses of the European Union ban on importing mangoes from India has been estimated at around £375,000 per year.
Asked by: Huw Irranca-Davies (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent meetings his Department has had with representatives of (a) the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, (b) National Asian Business Association and (c) other representative organisations or affected businesses to discuss (i) the EU ban on importation of mangoes from India, (ii) any alternatives to a ban and (iii) measures to mitigate the effect of such a ban on UK importers, distributors, retailers and restaurateurs.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
Lord de Mauley chaired a roundtable discussion on 21 May with the National Asian Business Association, the Fresh Produce Consortium and the Indian High Commission to discuss the implications of the European Union (EU) ban on mangoes from India and what help the UK might be able to offer India to comply with EU import requirements. Defra officials have also met these bodies and other trade representatives to discuss the issue.
Asked by: Huw Irranca-Davies (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether any phyto-sanitary and plant-disease expertise from the UK has been involved in helping to address the shortcomings identified by the EU Commissioner necessitating the recent ban on importation of mangoes from India.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
Defra's Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) has offered to deliver a technical training programme for Indian Plant Health Inspectors to help address some of the issues raised in the previous European Commission's Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) audits of the Indian plant health export certification systems. A Plant Health and Seeds Inspector from Fera will be also be assisting the FVO when it undertakes its audit visit to India in September.
Asked by: Huw Irranca-Davies (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the regulatory effect of recent changes to the common agricultural policy on farmers.
Answered by George Eustice
In implementing the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in England a number of decisions have been taken around how the budget should be spent.
In October 2013 Defra published an evidence paper alongside the consultation on CAP reform. This assessed the overall impact of the new CAP and the associated decisions being consulted on in England (https://consult.defra.gov.uk/agricultural-policy/cap-consultation).
Throughout the consultation period we actively sought further evidence, and further analysis took place. Further assessments of impacts on farmers, the rural community and Defra delivery bodies were made, and the findings of these have been included in publications setting out government decisions. These include:
· The December 2013 Government response to the consultation, which included estimates of the aggregate impact of changes to Pillar 1 on Farm Business Income - https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/common-agricultural-policy-reform-implementation-in-england;
· A draft impact assessment of the new Regional Development Programme for England, published in December 2013 and updated in June 2014 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/319445/rdpe-ia-201406.pdf;
· The Government decision on the moorland rate including an assessment of impact on farmers, published by Defra in May 2014 - https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/common-agricultural-policy-reform-implementation-in-england; and
· The Government decisions on cross compliance together with a summary of the evidence, published by Defra in June 2014 - https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/common-agricultural-policy-reform-implementation-in-england.
We will continue to publish further evidence as final CAP implementation decisions are made.
Asked by: Huw Irranca-Davies (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, from which countries other than India the import of mangoes to the EU is banned.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
None. The ban only applies to mangoes from India.
Asked by: Huw Irranca-Davies (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 37W, on rural areas: broadband, what the latest figures are for how much funding is for projects (a) granted, (b) under pre-contract approval and (c) still under consideration for funding.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
The current breakdown of funding to date that has arisen from the Rural Community Broadband Fund is as follows:
a) Projects granted (contracted and in delivery) total: £0.459 million;
b) Projects with pre-contract approval total: £0.634 million; and
c) Projects under consideration total: £14.0 million.
Until contracted, all costs are estimated and subject to revision.
Asked by: Huw Irranca-Davies (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to his statement of 3 April 2014, Official Report, columns 1034-7, on bovine TB, what the evidential basis is for the statement that about a third of badgers in TB hotspot areas are infected with TB.
Answered by George Eustice
The prevalence of M. bovis in badgers based on post-mortems and a subsequent analysis of the post-mortem protocol following the Randomised Badger Culling Trail (RBCT) showed prevalence of around 33%.
In the long-running study of badgers at Woodchester park TB prevalence in badgers has increased to over 30%.[1]
In a separate study in Gloucestershire between 35% and 53% of badgers tested positive to a TB test. [2]
[1]Delahay et al. Epidemiol. Infect. (2013), 141, 1445–1456. Long-term temporal trends and estimated transmission rates for Mycobacterium bovis infection in an undisturbed high-density badger (Meles meles) population
[2]Carter SP, et al. (2012) PLoS ONE 7(12): e49833. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049833 BCG Vaccination Reduces Risk of Tuberculosis Infection in Vaccinated Badgers and Unvaccinated Badger Cubs.