Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of the adequacy production standard of eggs imported from Ukraine.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK imports a small proportion of its annual supply of eggs, including from Ukraine, to meet domestic demand. We consistently monitor the impact of imports on the UK market.
All agri-food products must comply with the UK sanitary and phytosanitary standards and wider import requirements in order to be placed on the UK market.
Asked by: Robbie Moore (Conservative - Keighley and Ilkley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has modelled the cumulative impact on domestic egg production profits margins of permitting egg imports that do not face equivalent (a) animal welfare and (b) food safety costs.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK imports a small proportion of its annual supply of eggs, to meet domestic demand. The Government consistently considers the impact of imports on the UK market from all countries.
As set out in the UK’s Trade Strategy, the Government will not lower food standards and will uphold high animal welfare standards. The Government recognise concerns about methods of production, such as battery cages, which are not permitted in the UK. While methods vary in line with different climates, diseases, and other contextual reasons, the department will always consider whether overseas producers have an unfair advantage and any impact that may have. Where necessary, the department will be prepared to use the full range of powers at our disposal to protect our most sensitive sectors including permanent quotas, exclusions, and safeguards.
Asked by: Robbie Moore (Conservative - Keighley and Ilkley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of permitting eggs imports from barren battery cage systems on the viability of the domestic egg production chain.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK imports a small proportion of its annual supply of eggs, to meet domestic demand. The Government consistently considers the impact of imports on the UK market from all countries, including on domestic egg production chain. The department will continue to take account of UK imports as part of our continued monitoring of the egg production chain.
Asked by: Robbie Moore (Conservative - Keighley and Ilkley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of extending tariff-free access for Ukrainian eggs on the level of domestic food security.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under our Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine, tariffs on all goods are temporarily removed until March 2029, except for poultry and eggs, where the liberalisation is due to end on 31 March 2026.
Ukrainian imports of poultry and eggs currently constitute a small proportion of the UK’s total imports of these products. The Government consistently considers the views of industry and impact of imports on the UK market from all countries, including from Ukraine. The department will continue to take these views into account as part of our policy development process.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure imported eggs are (a) salmonella free and (b) raised to the same standards as UK produced eggs.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has detailed legislation on marketing standards for eggs, which also covers imported eggs, to protect our food standards.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the volume of egg imports into the United Kingdom from Ukraine in the last 12 months.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as an Accredited Official Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com)
From this website, it is possible to build your own data tables based upon bespoke search criteria including imports from Ukraine.
Goods moving to and from the UK are identified by commodity codes. To build a table you will need to know the commodity code of the goods imported. These codes are available in the UK Tariff at https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff. The commodity code for eggs can be found in Chapter 04.
If you need help or support in constructing a table from the data on uktradeinfo, please contact uktradeinfo@hmrc.gov.uk.
Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of poultry and egg imports from Ukraine on the UK market following the extension of tariff free access in February 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under our Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine, tariffs on all goods are temporarily removed until March 2029, except for poultry and eggs, where the liberalisation is due to end on 31 March 2026.
Ukrainian imports of poultry and eggs currently constitute a small proportion of the UK’s total imports of these products. We consistently consider the views of industry and impact of imports on the UK market from all countries, including from Ukraine. We will continue to take these views into account as part of our policy development process.
Asked by: Lord Wharton of Yarm (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of poultry and egg imports from Ukraine in meeting demand that cannot be met by domestic production of those products.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under our Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine, tariffs on all goods are temporarily removed until March 2029, except for poultry and eggs, where the liberalisation is due to end on 31 March 2026.
We consistently consider the views and impact on our domestic industry, and this is reflected in our approach to tariff liberalisation support for Ukraine. We will continue to take these views into account as part of our policy development process.
In 2024, domestic production made up 89% of eggs consumed and 83% of the poultry meat consumed. Our food security relies on a combination of both domestic production and a secure import route. Ukrainian imports of poultry and eggs currently constitute a small proportion of UK consumption and account for a small proportion of the UK’s total imports of these products.
Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
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 have discussions with food retailers on ending the use of cages for hens.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department remains firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to continue working closely with all stakeholders to deliver high standards. The major retailers have pledged to stop selling shell eggs from caged hens by the end of 2025, with some retailers extending that pledge to products containing liquid or processed egg.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with her counterpart in Ukraine on an extension of tariff-free access for Ukrainian (a) poultry and (b) egg products, which is due to expire in March 2026.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The extension was raised by the Ukrainians during the Foreign Secretary's visit to Kyiv on 12 September. This information was relayed to the Department for Business and Trade who lead on the UK-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement including the question of the extension of provisions for eggs and poultry. The Department for Business and Trade have confirmed that they will review the options on egg and poultry tariffs before March 2026.