The government intends to boost food exports by £2.9bn over the next five years to countries including Australia, China and the US as part of new post-Brexit plans unveiled by environment secretary Andrea Leadsom today.
The new International Action Plan for Food and Drink, launched at the Sial trade fair in Paris, would see the government and food industry work together to boost sales in nine key markets across 18 countries with the best potential for growth, said Leadsom.
It is targeting an extra £185m in exports to Japan through demand for classic British products like tea, jam and biscuits and new opportunities for British beef; an additional £293m in exports to Australia and New Zealand, where there is a growing thirst for British beer and cider; and an extra £215m in sales to Mexico and Latin America through growing demand for British products including whisky and gin.
An increase in exports of £579m is earmarked for the US and Canada, some £405m extra for China, while £349m in additional export sales has been earmarked for India, with a further £154m for the UAE and Gulf region.
The action plan was developed by Defra and the Department for International Trade and will be supported by Defra’s Great British Food Unit - launched by former environment secretary Liz Truss during the spring - and the government’s export credit agency UK Export Finance, which would ensure “no viable UK export fails for lack of finance or insurance”.
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Leadsom pledged to help exporters sell more overseas and provide business support, mentoring and training to give new companies the confidence and skills to start exporting. Food export sales were up almost 6% year on year, she added, and the new action plan would reinforce the fact the UK was “open for business” and ready to trade.
The government has targeted growing food and drink exports by at least a third to £6bn by 2020.
“Our food and drink is renowned for having the very best standards of animal welfare, quality and safety and I want even more of the world to enjoy what we have to offer,” Leadsom said. “Scottish salmon, Welsh beef, Northern Irish whiskey and English cheese are already well-known globally and I want us to build on this success by helping even more companies send their top quality food and drink abroad.”
The announcement was welcomed by FDF director general Ian Wright. “Export growth is hugely important to our sector. We hope the action plan will open more channels and provide direct support to new and existing food and drink exporters.”
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