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Written question asked by Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru) on Monday, 18 May 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 20 May 2026. It was answered by Angela Eagle (Labour) on Thursday, 4 June 2026 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Seeds: Imports

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the amount of seeds imported into the UK from non-EU countries was by weight in each year since 2020.

Answer

This is the volume (kgs) of notifiable seed from non-EU countries declared to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) based on risk categorisation:

  • 2025: 3,800,221.64
  • 2024: 3,702,498.58
  • 2023: 4,464,313.20
  • 2022: 6,478,940.93
  • 2021: 6,292,767.16
  • 2020: 4,173,602.86

There are known data quality issues with the weights on the import of products, animals, food and feed system (IPAFFS) notification. For example, the commodity net weight on the application may not be the total weight of the consignment but could be the weight per package.

The information provided is a true reflection of the information which APHA has access to. APHA relies on the information that is entered on the systems by a third party. APHA completes checks on accuracy as part of identity checks.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
2216
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Imports Seeds Overseas trade
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk