Select Committee on Welsh Affairs Minutes of Evidence

Annex 2

UK BEEF IMPORTSPURPOSE

  To outline the current situation regarding imports of beef into the UK and the procedures in place for enforcing veterinary regulations.

INTRODUCTION

  The demonstrations of recent days have focussed on the quantity of beef being imported and the standards with which it has to comply. This briefing updates B&S:35/B (18 March 1997) on the level of imports, the standards to which they are produced and the policing of regulations.

DATA ON BEEF IMPORTS

  Precise and up to date figures on the level of imports are not available and the collection of import data generally is an area of considerable debate. Official statistics on EU trade, known as Intrastat data, has a time-lag of several months and is also widely believed to be only a partial picture of actual trade. A more representative source may therefore be the forecasts compiled by bodies such as MAFF and the MLC, where their knowledge of trade flows is incorporated into official reported data.

ACTUAL AND FORECAST LEVEL OF IMPORTS

'000 tonnes	1996	1997	1998
Production	701	692	664
Imports (a)	187	214	221
Exports (a)	58	—	25
Consumption	739	839	850

(a) Bone-in equivalent

  In their October Cattle Market Outlook, the MLC gave the above figures and forecasts for imports up to the end of 1998. These figures are for total beef imports from EU countries and all third countries.

BEEF AND VEAL IMPORTS, 1995-1997

Tonnes
				Change
	Jan-Aug 95	Jan-Aug 96	Jan-Aug 97	97/96 (%)
Netherlands	2,715	6,011	10,687	+78
Germany	773	1,638	5,596	+242
Ireland	21,555	17,586	31,384	+78
France	5,163	5,674	2,699	-52
Other EU	879	1,676	2,605	+55
Total EU	31,085	32,585	52,971	+63
Uruguay	6,737	6,515	9,986	+53
Argentine	5,047	5,397	6,996	+30
Australia	5,797	6,644	5,458	-18
Other non-EU	16,857	24,358	17,730	-27
Total non-EU	34,438	42,914	40,168	-6
Total	65,523	75,499	93,139	+23

COMPARISON OF BEEF AND SHEEP PRICES IN SELECTED MEMBER STATES

	Beef		Sheepmeat
	p/kg/lwt		p/kg/dwt
w/e	5-12-96	4-12-97	1-12-96	30-11-97
Denmark	86.14	79.55	206.91	220.81
Germany	98.18	91.56	288.45	242.65
Spain	104.03	100.50	387.62	315.23
France	103.22	100.63	331.17	275.15
Irish Rep	90.59	75.69	284.52	198.20
UK	98.16	82.52*	292.23	208.08

  * UK reference price reported to the EU.

Effect of sterling

  Both sterling and the Irish punt have risen against other EU currencies. Despite the punt's strength it has still fallen in value against sterling. Irish beef which would have cost UK importers £1 in September 1996 can now be purchased for 85 pence. The same quantity of German beef could be bought for 78 pence. The competitiveness of other European beef on the UK market is a feature of lower prices in the countries concerned combined with currency movements. The table compares the latest livestock reference prices for certain European countries with those of last year. All prices are sourced from the MLC.

TRADING REGULATIONS

Harmonisation between EU and Third Country standards

  The current requirements for EU trade were introduced in 1972. They established harmonised trading conditions throughout the Community and between Third Country trading partners in three key areas:

  1.  The EC/GB approves products from Third Countries on the basis of veterinary controls in approved establishments and the animal health status within each country. However, where a country has an incidence of disease, movement controls and buffer zones would be imposed in certain regions. It would not necessarily impose a blanket ban on all beef in that country.

  2.  A health certificate, signed by a vet, must accompany consignments of beef to confirm that EC/GB requirements have been adhered to. In addition, a designated health mark will be applied to meat or meat products destined for export to GB.

  3.  Establishment must meet EU or GB approved standards. Similar to those existing within the Community, approvals are based on meeting certain hygiene and structural standards.

Licences

  The requirements for importing into GB can be found in documents known as general licences which are published regularly. Exporting countries must be aware of these conditions and include them within animal health certification. They may include assurances with regard to the animal health status of the product, the area where it was produced or the treatment(s) it may have undergone.

Approved lists

  Imports of meat and meat products from Third Countries are permitted only from establishments approved to GB or EU standards. This ensures that they meet the same animal health and public health controls which exist nationally or within the Community. In 1976 the Commission allowed a derogation so that Third Countries who traditionally traded with Member States could automatically be included on an approved list. However, where products are imported from these countries, each consignment must be inspected on arrival at border control points. Naturally, this is seen to increase the administrative burden and costs to the enforcement authorities.

  During the latest GATT round it was agreed that there ought to be flexibility between trading partners. As a result, New Zealand benefits from a "Third Country Equivalent" agreement which recognises their existing controls and overrides the need to prescribe additional EC requirements. Other major trading partners are also seeking this status, for example the USA and Argentina.

What happens once goods are imported from Third Countries?

  Third Country imports may only enter via official border inspection posts. Information about imported products must be submitted six hours before arrival by air or within one working day at other ports, so there will be advanced information about consignments entering the port. On arrival, an official veterinary surgeon, employed by the board health authority, will check the documentary evidence accompanying an assignment. Depending on the origin of the beef, a percentage of cargo is physically checked once the paperwork has been approved. More detailed inspections are performed on a sliding scale, increasing with the potential risk.

What about the Intra-Community trade?

  Responsibility for ensuring exports comply with the necessary rules rests with the exporting Member State. However, the importing Member State may carry out non-discriminatory spot checks at the places of final destination and at any point during transit if there is any suspicion about the consignment.

Over Thirty Month Beef

  Over thirty month beef cannot be imported from other EU countries for sale in the UK. It can be brought in for processing in the UK if it is subsequently re-exported. In the first nine months of 1997 3,152 tonnes was exported to the EU and a further 331 tonnes to third countries. The procedures for enforcing rules on imports are the same as those applying to any intra-Community trade, namely that spot checks may be carried out by Trading Standards Officers at abattoirs, cutting plants or processors or during transit. The OTM ruling does not apply to the following Third Countries. Therefore, all their beef can be brought into and sold within GB.

Argentina	Namibia	Swaziland
Australia	New Zealand	Uruguay
Botswana	Paraguay	USA
Brazil	Poland	Zimbabwe
Mauritius	South Africa

What other controls are in place?

  All licensed abattoirs, cutting plants and rewrapping centres are monitored by the Meat Hygiene Service and there is an OVS presence in each plant. Local authorities are responsible for enforcing food law and Trading Standards Officer will deal with labelling, composition, advertising and descriptions of food.

  Environmental Health Officers deal with hygiene and microbiological standards. Finally, most multiple retailers require additional checks from their suppliers to back up formal controls which already exist.

  Residue testing forms an important part of the national surveillance programme and tests can be taken by the port health authority when consignments enter the port. In addition, a non-statutory programme supplements these controls and random samples of meat are monitored at point of sale. The results of these tests for 1996 are attached in Annex 2 and highlight that samples from cattle do not show any incidence of residues above the MRL. These samples are based on imported and domestic supplies.

SPECIFIED RISK MATERIAL

  Producer concern has focused strongly on the lack of EU wide legislation on SRM removal. There has been disquiet that, with sporadic reporting of BSE outbreaks in other countries, consumers in the UK may be exposed to a higher level of risk from imported beef which is not subject to the same stringent rules on SRM removal as beef slaughtered in the UK. As the definition of SRM has been extended to include additional tissues from cattle and sheep the impact of the increased cost relative to competitors has also become an issue.

  In July 1997 the Council of Ministers announced a Decision which would introduce EU wide legislation on the removal of SRM from 1 January 1998. There is however currently a proposal that the Decision should be amended and it is likely that its introduction will be delayed by three months. The proposal will be considered by the Council of Ministers on 15-16 December.

  Issues related to the enforcement of EU legislation on SRM are the definition of SRM and trade with third countries. The report of the EC Scientific Steering Committee on 9 December recommended that the vertebral column of sheep over 12 months of age should be classed as SRM. The Minister has however made a statement announcing that the UK Government would base its action on SEAC advice and that "The EU SSC is a purely advisory committee with no legislative role or powers". The statement also reaffirmed that the UK would enforce SRM controls from 1 January, regardless of whether or not EU legislation came into force, and that the requirements would be applied to meat imported from the EU and third countries unless they are recognised as free of TSEs.

  Some member states have already introduced rules with regard to the removal of SRMs. In March 1997 the following measures were in place for cattle and sheep.

Irish Republic	—	Same controls as in the UK at that time.
France	—	All cattle over 6 months—brain, spinal cord and eyes removed and destroyed.
	—	Cattle born or imported before 31 July 1991—as above, plus removal of thymus, tonsils and intestines.
	—	Sheep over 12 months—brain, spinal cord and eyes destroyed.
Spain	—	No controls on cattle SBM.
	—	Sheep and goats over 6 months—ban on spinal cord, eyes, thymus, tonsils, spleen and intestines from sheep imported from France, Republic of Ireland, Switzerland, Portugal and UK.
	—	All sheep and goats imported from France—all brains destroyed.
Portugal	—	SBM destroyed from cattle in herds where BSE cases have been confirmed.

  No SRM controls was in place in other member states.

MEAT AND BONEMEAL

  The use of meat and bonemeal in ruminant feeds was banned in the UK in 1988 and in the rest of the EU in 1994. However, evidence shows that until last year in the UK there was still some cross contamination occurring in feed mills producing both ruminant and non-ruminant rations. This has now been addressed by prohibiting all use of MBM in UK animal feeds, but remains a potential risk in other parts of the EU where ruminant protein is still used in pig and poultry rations.

LEGAL STATUS OF IMPORTS

  The main basis for blocking imported agricultural products under the provisions of the Treaty of Rome is where it can be demonstrated that it poses a risk to animal or human health. The EU Commission will look carefully to see whether the prohibition is simply a disguised arbitrary restriction on trade between member states. It would require a general concensus among scientists, such as those on the EU Standing Veterinary Committee.

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Prepared 12 February 1998