Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Grant Excerpts

Thursday 29th March 2018 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Peter Grant (Glenrothes) (SNP)]

1. What assessment he has made of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on food and drink exports.

[The Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade (Dr Liam Fox)]

In 2017 the UK exported more than £22 billion-worth of food and drink products to the world, an increase of almost 10% on the previous year. When we leave the European Union, as we will exactly one year today, we will free UK farmers from the constraints of the common agricultural policy and provide huge opportunities for Scottish businesses in emerging markets, where demand for quality produce is high.

[Peter Grant]

Despite the brave words of the Secretary of State, he knows as well as we all do that the Scottish fresh food industry is in crisis because there is nobody to pick the fruit—his Government’s policies are deterring people from coming to Scotland to work. Can he give us just one example of a country anywhere in the world that has given a guarantee that, after we leave the European Union, Scottish food exports will be treated in exactly the same way as they are in the European Union’s market of half a billion people? Just one example, please.

[Dr Fox]

For produce such as salmon, our exports are almost exactly 50% European Union and 50% non-European Union. Salmon exports to Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam are up 63% in the past year.