Pat Upton
Question:45 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the number of jobs which were lost in each year since 1980 arising from the importation of food and agricultural produce which could have been produced here.
Written Answers. - Food Imports.
Pat Upton
Question:71 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the value of food imports for each year since 1980; and the value of imported food produce which could have been produced here for each year since 1980.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 45 and 71 together.
I understand from figures supplied by the Central Statistics Office that the value of imported food products in each of the years in question was as follows:
|
Year |
Value |
|
£ million |
|
|
1980 |
419 |
|
1981 |
515 |
|
1982 |
511 |
|
1983 |
536 |
|
1984 |
653 |
|
1985 |
689 |
|
1986 |
697 |
|
1987 |
701 |
|
1988 |
740 |
|
1989 |
794 |
|
1990 |
854 |
|
1991 |
943 |
|
1992 |
1,006 |
I have already supplied the Deputy with details of the total numbers of jobs gained and lost in the food industry in each year since 1980. In this connection I would refer him to my written reply to Questions No. 210 on 4 May.
It is not possible to establish any corelationship between job losses in the food industry and food imports. Neither it is possible to calculate with any degree of accuracy how much of these imports could have been produced here. However, it should be noted that the overall increased freedom of international trade in food which now exists, in particular within the EC, has enabled us to increase our exports of food products very significantly.