Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) value and (b) volume of (i) plant material, (ii) meat or animal material and (iii) other food products imported at each point of entry into the UK; and what records of those imports are make at each point of entry.
In 2017 from non-EU countries, the UK imported approximately:
Ports keep records of all consignments of imported food of animal origin and high-risk food not of animal origin (food not of animal origin subject to EU sampling legislation) on the TRACES computer system. Other government bodies such as HMRC also keep some records of food imports.
It should be noted that HMRC only collect details of imports of goods at specific points of entry from non-EU countries – currently the same data is not collected for movements of goods from EU member states at specific points of entry.