To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list all those countries currently imposing import restrictions on live cattle or cattle products originating from the United Kingdom, indicating in respect of each country the nature of the restrictions.

It would be impracticable to publish in the Official Report the large number of health conditions imposed by importing countries on live cattle or cattle products originating from the United Kingdom. Import conditions reflect the requirements of Community rules, where they exist and, in other cases, the rules of the countries of destination.For live cattle these may include confirmation, as appropriate, of country/area/holding/animal freedom from specific diseases and possibly pre-export isolation and/or testing. In the case of cattle products, import rules may require that the products in question originate from healthy animals and have been produced or processed in a way that safeguards public and/or animal health. Importing countries generally require that live cattle or cattle products be accompanied by an export health certificate signed by an official veterinarian to confirm that the necessary conditions have been met.