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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of agri-food attachés on the domestic wine sector.

Defra has 16 agri-food attachés across the world who resolve market access barriers and support export growth for the UK agri-food sector, including wine. So far in 2025, the attachés have helped resolve 41 trade barriers, worth nearly £100m in export opportunities for the agri-food sector.

The UK wine sector, as one of the fastest growing agricultural sectors, is an area that continues to attract domestic and foreign investment. UK wine exports increased by 35% in 2024, accounting for 9% of total sales, which shows a growing interest in the product. To support this interest, UK wines are now served in a number of embassies across the world, from Paris to Tokyo, with attachés playing a key role in their promotion. They also help by working across Governments and with industry partners to resolve practical issues that UK companies face when exporting.

In addition to supporting wine export outcomes (their primary focus), attachés also advance broader Defra objectives, including monitoring global wine supply chain risks and contributing to G20 discussions, COP30 and other multilateral engagements.