British farmers and food producers will soon be able to
export British sheep meat to India as the country prepares
to open its market for the first time.
The UK’s sheep meat exports were worth £386 million to our
economy in 2017, with lamb meat alone reaching 69 export
markets.
The new agreement, which covers a range of sheep meat cuts,
is expected to build on this by over £6 million in the next
five years.
The deal has been secured following a detailed process of
inspections and negotiations by the UK government, working
with the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board
(AHDB) and UK Export Certification Partnership (UKECP).
Exporters can take advantage of the market as soon as the
administrative listing process is completed and export
certification is made available.
It follows a number of recent successes for UK food and
drink exports, which reached a record level of £22 billion
in 2017. China recently lifted its two-decade long ban on
UK beef exports, while Taiwan also opened its market to
British pork for the first time. Together, the agreements
are estimated to represent over £300 million in the first
five years alone.
Food Minister said:
The latest market access opening in India represents a
significant win for the UK’s sheep meat producers.
The announcement builds on the UK’s food and drink
exporting success story - our well-established reputation
for taste, quality and high animal welfare standards has
seen our food and drink industry export at record levels
in recent years.
In Wales, lamb exports account for a third of total food
and drink exports - worth £110 million.
International Trade Secretary MP, said:
The opening of the Indian market to British lamb is
further good news for our farmers, and is another vote of
confidence in our world-leading food and drink at a time
when exports from the sector are at a record high.
This latest agreement is a welcome progression in the
already fruitful UK-India relationship, and I look
forward to seeing British lamb on Indian tables in the
near future.
AHDB International Market Development Director Dr Phil
Hadley said:
India represents a smaller market for our sheep meat
exports but one with the potential for future growth due
to its growing population and income.
Access to this new market is the result of ongoing work
by government, AHDB and key industry stakeholders and
provides us with another non-European market for our
sheep meat exports.
Today’s announcement is once again a testament to the
high-quality produce and world-class standards we have
here in the UK.
A team of the Government’s leading trade experts continue
to provide guidance to UK businesses as they enter into
overseas markets for the first time or consider expanding
their current global customer base – ensuring they are
poised to take advantage of the increasing opportunities
Brexit presents.
This is complemented by the government’s Food is GREAT
campaign, which aims to showcase the UK’s top quality food
and drink overseas, while highlighting the success of our
current exporters.
