- Support comes ahead of Small Business Saturday, a scheme to
encourage consumers to shop small in the run-up to Christmas
- Agri-food & drink specialists to be placed in key markets
to promote Global Britain’s world-leading produce
- Plan to boost UK’s food and drink exports worth £21.7 billion
in 2020, helping to level up communities across Britain through
global trade
The Government has today announced further measures to support
the UK’s world-leading agri-food and drink sector, helping them
to build back better from the pandemic and thrive in a Global
Britain.
The Government will add eight new agri-food and drink attachés in
priority markets, as part of a wider plan to boost exports,
further unlock barriers to trade and open up new exporting
opportunities around the world.
As well as posts in China, USA, India, Canada and Mexico, the
agri-food attachés will be covering growth markets in the Gulf,
Africa, South America and the Asia-Pacific region. There will
also be additional capacity and resource in Europe, as
Government’s key market.
Existing attachés in China and the UAE have been pivotal in
securing access for a greater range of products, driving export
growth and building mutually supportive relationships with
trading partners. Attachés are based in UK embassies and
consulates overseas and have long-standing expertise in the
agri-food and drink sector.
UK Government has a key role to play in supporting businesses
grow their exports in global markets. The new attaché roles will
help to reduce and remove trade barriers, broaden market access
and support companies as they increase their market share in
established and emerging international markets.
Secretary of State for International Trade, said:
From Scottish salmon and Welsh Lamb to Northern Irish beef and
English sparkling wine, our food and drink is recognised at home
and abroad for its great taste and high quality.
Today’s announcement will showcase the very best that the UK has
to offer on a global stage, boost jobs in our food and drink
sector and help to level up every part of the UK.
“My department is supporting UK businesses on their export
journey. From our Export Support Service to Export Champions, we
want businesses all over the UK to have the tools to take
advantage of the ambitious trade deals we are signing with
countries across the world.”
Environment Secretary said:
We want people at home and abroad to be lining up to buy British.
The support announced today will enable our farmers and food and
drink producers to take advantage of new opportunities and fly
the flag for UK produce around the world.
This follows the recent successful launch of DIT’s ‘Made in the
UK, Sold to the World’ campaign, which saw a
range of measures to support UK businesses in their exporting
journey and deliver on the aim of exporting a trillion pounds’
worth of goods and services by 2030.
Today’s announcement also follows the International Trade
Secretary’s keynote speech at the
Margaret Thatcher Conference on Trade last week, where she set
out the UK’s trade strategy that will seize the economic
opportunities of a changing global economy, boosting jobs across
the UK.
The UK’s food and drink industry exports totalled £21.7 billion
in 2020, including £1.8 billion worth of exports to the USA and
£257 million to the UAE.
