Written question asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative) on Monday, 5 March 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 7 March 2012. It was answered by James Paice (Conservative) on Tuesday, 13 March 2012 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Meat: Exports

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assistance is given to exporters of (a) pig meat, (b) lamb and (c) beef to countries (i) within the EU and (ii) internationally; what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Foreign Commonwealth Affairs on promoting such exports; and if she will make a statement.

Answer: On 27 January 2012 the Government published 'Driving Export Growth in the Farming, Food and Drink Sector', a joint industry-Government plan of action. DEFRA, UKTI and FCO together with industry will work to open markets and remove trade barriers; help build a business mindset of exporting as a key route to growth; encourage more SMEs to explore overseas opportunities and support those already doing so; and shift the focus of the sector towards the opportunities of emerging economies where there is the greatest future growth potential.One of the actions DEFRA will undertake will be to develop a strategy in collaboration with industry to remove barriers to trade for British animal and animal products into key overseas markets. This will focus on identifying the key markets and then negotiating the appropriate import conditions and associated guarantee documentation such as export health certificates to access those markets.The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), and her ministerial team regularly meet with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), and other FCO Ministers in the course of Government business and exports are a regular topic of discussion.

Secondary information