Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has a policy on supporting food manufacturers to sell their produce abroad.

The Government is committed to working with the food and drink industry, both in the UK and overseas, to raise the international profile and reputation of UK food and drink. In 2016 we launched a strategy entitled ‘International Action Plan for Food and Drink 2016 – 2020’, and last year we introduced the Food is GREAT campaign. This campaign is focused on helping food and drink companies of all sizes from across the UK to export. It runs campaigns in a range of priority markets and aims to ensure strong global recognition of UK excellence in food and drink. Food is GREAT is delivered in partnership with the Department for International Trade, VisitBritain and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

In 2017 UK food, feed and drink exports were worth £22 billion, an increase of 7.7% on 2016. In recent years UK food and drink exporting has been a success story and it will continue to be a Government priority. We see exports as an important driver of growth in the food and drink sector, allowing it to become more resilient, competitive and profitable.