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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to promote British-made produce in the UK and abroad.

The Great British Food Unit brings together expertise from within Defra, the Department for International Trade and Embassies to promote top quality British food and drink around the world. The five year Great British Food Campaign celebrates the best of the UK’s Food and Drink industry and aims to build a world-leading brand for British food and drink.

2016 is the Year of Great British Food. Within the UK, a series of events, partnerships and promotional activity is celebrating the richness of Great British Food and highlighting the best of our food and drink provenance, heritage and culture, working with leading food entrepreneurs and in partnership with the food and drink industry.

Encouraging companies to start exporting or to increase exports is a priority for this government. The Great British Food Unit has developed nine campaigns in 18 priority countries with the aim of boosting exports by hundreds of millions over the next five years. The campaigns target large existing markets or markets with significant growth potential – Australia and New Zealand; France; Germany; India; Japan; Mexico and Latin America; USA and Canada; China; UAE and Gulf.

In England, the ‘Exporting is Great’ Export Hub Truck tour (10 to 14 October 2016) is supporting new exporters in getting the information and support they need to begin exporting. The truck is visiting the South West, the Midlands, the Northern Powerhouse regions and the South East.