DAIRY PRODUCTS: IMPORTS

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to reduce UK dependence on imported dairy products; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustace, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for farming, food and marine environment: We have worked closely with the dairy industry to produce the ‘Leading the Way’ Growth Plan, launched in June 2014. The Plan aims to eliminate the dairy deficit by value by 2025, including growing the UK’s share of the domestic market by displacing imports. We discussed the Growth Plan and how industry might address the dairy trade deficit at the Dairy Supply Chain Forum on 19 November 2014. The industry steering group set up to oversee progress on the Growth Plan will report on this in the New Year.

By making improvements to the public procurement process the Government is making it easier for local suppliers to access the public sector market. We are pushing the case at EU level for better country of origin labelling. This would benefit the UK dairy industry in a number of ways, including requiring British cheeses to be made from British milk.
 

DISSOLUTION OF PARLIAMENT

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