Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd at 1:54 pm on 20 February 2019.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Mr Neil Hamilton Mr Neil Hamilton UKIP 1:54, 20 February 2019

Well, I'm very pleased to hear that, and this is the sort of positive talk that we want to hear across the Chamber, but the reality is that, whether there is a deal or no deal is not actually in our hands but we have to prepare for the consequences if there is one. And what I say is that there are massive opportunities as well as, obviously, the difficulties that that would pose for producers. But, there are markets that are rapidly expanding in other parts of the world, unlike Europe, which is a stagnating—and, indeed, declining—economy, as most of the continent will be in recession in a very short time.

In the middle east we've been very successful recently in expanding our markets. In 2013-14, we were selling only about £3 million-worth a year of food to the middle east. The latest figure that I've got is for 2017, and it was 10 times that—£33 million. So, clearly there are opportunities there that can be taken advantage of. China is a massive market, of course. It'll soon be one of the largest markets in the world. New Zealand is selling more and more to China. Exports of New Zealand produce to the UK in 2017 were only £340 million. They are now exporting more than three times that amount to China, and rapidly increasing that every year. So, what are we able to do to capitalise upon being able to sell to markets in other parts of the world, like China and, indeed, India, which expanded at a rate of 8 per cent last year, to take advantage of these opportunities for Welsh producers?