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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the impact of the market share of (a) Cargill, (b) Archer Daniels Midland Company, (c) Bunge Limited and (d) Louis Dreyfus Company in the global trade of grain on food resilience; and if he will make a statement.

It is not for the UK Government to comment on companies' day-to-day commercial decisions, commercially sensitive business information, or their ownership structures.

The UK is instead engaging with likeminded partners through multi-lateral forums including the WTO, UN and G7 to build consensus on the importance of keeping markets open to support global food security.

I am proud to say that the UK's high degree of food security is built on a supply of diverse sources: strong domestic production, as well as imports through stable trade routes. In terms of cereal production, the UK is highly self-sufficient with 88% of cereals consumed in the UK in 2020 produced domestically. The UK also produced 14 million tonnes of wheat in 2021, close to the volume of wheat consumed, and has stocks of 1.7 million tonnes.

I am committed to ensure balanced food markets and ensure food stability, both at home and abroad. Together with the Devolved Administrations, Defra has established the UK Agricultural Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG), which monitors and assesses the impact of market development across all key agricultural commodities, including grain, enabling it to provide a forewarning of any atypical market movements. Furthermore, the UK's membership in the International Grains Council also allows the Government to monitor global price, volatility, and stock levels, and we benefit from the regular provision of detailed statistical information and analysis of world grain and oilseed production, demand, and trade.