asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what measures he will take to protect British honey producers from unfair competition and the dumping of cheap honey on the domestic market by foreign producers.
Imports of honey from third countries are subject to a 27 per cent. duty under the European Community's common external tariff and are subject to the Honey Regulations 1976 which implement directive 74/409/EEC and set health standards for imports. Over the last four years, home production of natural honey has averaged less than 3,000 tonnes annually against consumption of over 20,000 tonnes.Action on unfair competition and dumping is the responsibility of the European Commission. Where United Kingdom interests are injured, the unfair trade unit of the Department of Trade and Industry works closely with them in ensuring the necessary evidence is presented to the Commission.