Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the value of UK tea sales in the last financial year; what plans she has to return to China to promote British tea sales in that country; and if she will assess the value for money of previous such visits.

In 2014 UK retail sales of tea were worth £663 million and exports were worth £116 million. Tea exports increased by 16% to £59.4 million between January and June 2015, compared with January to June 2014.

Exports of food and drink are a Defra priority. British food and drink exports to China reached a record level to £287 million last year, with tea exports increasing by 583% to £2.2 million in January-June 2015 compared with the same period in 2014. The Secretary of State will be championing the best of British in China this November, including tea, and further build on the strong relationships formed with her counterparts in China during her January visit.