Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the levels of imported chicken products from China since July 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All agri-food products must comply with our sanitary and phytosanitary standards and wider import requirements in order to be placed on the UK market. While poultry imports from China to the UK are permitted they are subject to stricter, updated certification requirements as of December 2024, requiring approved premises.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department holds data on the quantity of chicken products imported from China in each month since July 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Date | Number of Consignments | Total Net Weight |
Jul-24 | 170 | 2,585,700.29 |
Aug-24 | 261 | 4,015,899.31 |
Sep-24 | 280 | 3,961,455.90 |
Oct-24 | 214 | 3,053,346.90 |
Nov-24 | 250 | 4,052,208.76 |
Dec-24 | 197 | 2,879,896.97 |
Jan-25 | 250 | 3,656,965.02 |
Feb-25 | 215 | 3,081,240.87 |
Mar-25 | 290 | 4,255,461.46 |
Apr-25 | 239 | 3,765,926.54 |
May-25 | 263 | 3,998,849.32 |
Jun-25 | 283 | 4,172,640.20 |
Jul-25 | 300 | 4,270,514.57 |
Aug-25 | 373 | 5,353,145.81 |
Sep-25 | 320 | 4,173,131.59 |
Oct-25 | 293 | 4,314,525.73 |
Nov-25 | 381 | 5,222,383.73 |
Dec-25 | 297 | 4,171,925.29 |
Jan-26 | 353 | 5,139,804.74 |
Feb-26 | 391 | 5,754,842.52 |
Mar-26 | 474 | 7,055,846.71 |
The data provided relates to imports from China where the species is recorded as either Aves or Gallus. Where the species has been recorded as Aves, it is not possible to confirm that the product is chicken, due to the way species information is captured in the Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System (IPAFFS).
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of whether chicken products from China have been produced in compliance with UK animal welfare standards.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Imports into the UK must comply with our existing import requirements. While poultry imports from China to the UK are permitted they are subject to stricter, updated certification requirements as of December 2024, requiring approved premises.
Products produced to different environmental and animal welfare standards can be placed on the UK market if they comply with these requirements. This has always been the case and includes products from the EU and other longstanding trading partners.
While production methods vary in line with different climates, diseases, and other contextual reasons, the Government will always consider whether overseas produce has an unfair advantage and any impact that may have. Where necessary, this Government will be prepared to use the full range of powers at the Government’s disposal to protect the UK’s most sensitive sectors
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of whether chicken products imported from China comply with UK food standards.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Imports into the UK must comply with our existing import requirements. While poultry imports from China to the UK are permitted they are subject to stricter, updated certification requirements as of December 2024, requiring approved premises.
Products produced to different environmental and animal welfare standards can be placed on the UK market if they comply with these requirements. This has always been the case and includes products from the EU and other longstanding trading partners.
While production methods vary in line with different climates, diseases, and other contextual reasons, the Government will always consider whether overseas produce has an unfair advantage and any impact that may have. Where necessary, this Government will be prepared to use the full range of powers at the Government’s disposal to protect the UK’s most sensitive sectors
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the extent to which chicken products from China are used to fulfil public procurement contracts in the UK.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government remains committed to its ambition that half of all food served in public settings is either locally sourced or certified to higher environmental standards and is open to considering all lawful means of achieving this. The Government recognises that there is limited existing data about the origin and sustainability of food in the public sector supply chain and the data landscape is complex and fragmented. Public bodies are not required to report on the origin of the food they procure. However, the Government is currently assessing what food the public sector buys and where it comes from. In due course, this will provide us with detailed insights on the extent to which public sector settings are serving food, including chicken, from local and sustainable sources, and what more can be done.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that the UK remains a competitive destination for international investment in agricultural biotechnology compared to EU member states.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is taking steps to ensure the UK remains at the forefront of the global agricultural biotechnology sector, which is expected to reach £232.23 billion by 2034.
Precision breeding is a key growth technology within engineering biology, and a critical subsector in the Industrial Strategy. The global plant and precision breeding market is currently worth approximately £6.7 billion and is expected to grow to over £10 billion by 2030. By enacting the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Regulations 2025 we have the potential to be at the forefront across Europe and to be a major global competitor in this rapidly growing industry.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that future SPS alignment with the EU does not reintroduce regulatory barriers for precision-bred crops already permitted under the Precision Breeding Act 2025.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra remains committed to implementing the Precision Breeding Act and enabling the safe development of innovative genetic technologies.
Under the UK-EU Common Understanding, it is recognised that there will be areas where the UK will retain its own rules. The detail of those areas is now part of ongoing negotiations. Throughout this process, Defra has been clear on the importance of maintaining the UK’s ability to regulate precision breeding in a way that supports innovation, gives farmers access to new tools, and upholds high standards of safety.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his proposed ban on trophy hunting imports will include the (a) import and (b) export of hunting trophies, (c) enforcement of existing (i) national and (ii) international laws against trophy hunting and (d) enforcement of penalties for offenders.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to banning the import of hunting trophies from species of conservation concern. Defra is engaging with relevant stakeholders on the scope and design of this ban, including on the enforcement of penalties and hunting trophy exports.
We will continue to implement all existing national and international laws regarding trophy hunting trade, for example, under the UK Wildlife Trade Regulations and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the planned scope is of the proposed ban on trophy hunting imports; and when he plans to publish a timetable for introducing that legislation.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to banning the import of hunting trophies from species of conservation concern, as determined under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Timeframes for introducing legislation will be provided once there is sufficient clarity on the Parliamentary timetable.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the bioethanol industry on the UK-US trade deal.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Whenever a trade agreement of any sort is agreed, there will be domestic impacts if our trading partners have requested further access to the UK market. That is the case for the agreement on bioethanol. Senior officials from the Department for Business and Trade have been meeting representatives of the domestic bioethanol industry, and the Secretary of State for Business and Trade met with bioethanol businesses on 14 May. We are actively listening to the concerns of the sector, and we are committed to working with the domestic bioethanol industry.