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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support food producers from (a) Essex and (b) the UK to increase exports of produce.

We are delivering our commitment to boost UK exports, as part of the Government’s ‘Made in the UK, Sold to the World’ export strategy, a 12-point plan to help UK businesses hit £1 trillion in exports. We want people at home and abroad to be lining up to buy British.

We have an ambitious programme of negotiations for free trade agreements (FTAs) which is delivering results. On 31 May the UK’s first new FTAs with Australia and New Zealand came into force, opening up markets for UK producers across all products. On 31 March the Government substantially concluded negotiations on the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, an FTA including 11 members: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. This trade deal will see new export opportunities for food producers including for exporters of dairy products, including cheese and butter, having greater access to lower tariffs in Canada, Japan, and Mexico, and exporters of chocolate will benefit from zero tariffs on exports to Mexico and Malaysia.

The Prime Minister recently announced a food and drink export package to boost export capability and deliver on growing demand for our high-quality UK produce across the world. This includes a further expansion of our global agrifood and drink counsellor network who negotiate removal of trade barriers in growing global markets. The package also includes investments of £2 million in global trade shows and missions, promotion through the £1.6 million GREAT food and drink campaign, and bespoke support for seafood (£1 million) and dairy exports (£1 million).

To further support food producers export, we have held a range of national and regional food summits with dedicated SME workshops to highlight export opportunities and how to access support.