Britain has the
land, technology and entrepreneurial flair to lead the world in food and
farming, Elizabeth Truss said today.
Speaking at the
Oxford Farming Conference, the Environment Secretary said the UK£100bn industry
was at the core of the Government’s long-term economic plan and detailed the
actions being taken to ensure a flourishing future for British food and
farming.
This includes
promoting British exports, cutting red tape and better protecting our country
from animal and plant disease to make a real, practical difference to farmers’
working lives.
Environment
Secretary Elizabeth Truss said: “Farming is a high-tech powerhouse at the heart
of our long-term economic plan, vital to our country’s future security.
“We have the
entrepreneurs and go-ahead farmers to ensure this, taking pride in our heritage
to forge a future based on innovation, technology and the quality of our great
British food.
“Over recent
months we have seen fresh evidence of why we are right to be both ambitious and
optimistic for the industry this year and in the future. Exports of English and
Welsh wine are on course to break the UK£100m barrier this year. Beer exports are
also breaking records, with more than a billion pints of beer sold abroad for
the first time.
“No ambition is
too high for British food and farming.”
Since 2010, the
Government has signed deals to open 600 food markets abroad, while British food
and drink exports have gone up 7 percent since 2010, reaching UK£19billion.
The Bonfield
Report launched by the Prime Minister and the Environment Secretary has made it
easier for public sector schools, hospitals and canteens to buy high-quality
local food, helping British producers win more of a UK£400m market.
From April, it
will be easier for shoppers to know the origin of their food, when packaged
meat will have to carry a label showing the country where it was reared and
slaughtered.
The Government
has also maintained Britain’s world-class disease scientific capability by
protecting the number of vets and expanding its investigatory capacity. This
includes research to identify what genes make the best beef cattle, which is
expected to contribute to UK£150m a year in improved farm profits.
MAG1502
The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine GFMT
which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.
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