Meat industry trade bodies attended Anuga 2023 with support from the UK's central and devolved Governments, showcasing red meat to audiences from around the globe.
Kevin Hollinrake MP, Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business at the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has thrown his support behind red meat and dairy exporters showcasing their products at Anuga in Cologne.
Hollinrake met with exporters on the AHDB stand in the British Meat Pavilion and the jointly organised AHDB and Government Dairy Pavilion stand at the event which attracts more than 100,000 influential visitors from around the world. The red meat stand included dedicated meeting areas and features high-end dishes for visitors to sample quality meat and dairy products sustainably produced by British farmers.
Addressing around 300 key industry stakeholders at the AHDB British Meat Dinner, Hollinrake said: “Across the UK, our agriculture, food and drink sectors help create thousands of well-paid jobs and grow our economy. I’m delighted to be here at Anuga, and to meet with UK businesses selling their products around the world.
“The UK is home to world-class food and drink and this Government is committed to supporting our producers and manufacturers as they look to expand further into the overseas market.”
Welsh red meat spotlighted
A number of Welsh producers also attended Anuga with the support of the Welsh Government. Both Hybu Cig Cymru - Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) and Edwards, The Welsh Butcher showcased red meat at Anuga, looking to meet international trade customers and demonstrate the quality of red meat from Wales.
Welsh Government Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd, Lesley Griffiths said: "Anuga 2023 provides our fantastic Welsh food and drink businesses with a great opportunity to showcase their high-quality products to buyers from around the world.
"Our food and drink exports are at record levels, and events such as this are important in helping see people abroad enjoy food and drink from Wales."
Other Welsh producers supported by Government included Get Jerky, The Lobster Pot, South Caernarfon Creameries and Snowdonia Cheese Company.
Scottish Minister joins QMS at Anuga
Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) was joined at Anuga by Scottish Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon, underlining the Scottish Government's commitment to promoting the nation's produce.
The team championed Scotland's red meat products, emphasising quality, provenance, sustainability and animal welfare to align with Anuga's 2023 theme, "Sustainable Growth".
Gougeon said: “Scotland has a global reputation for producing the finest food and drink products and we are open for business. We can be proud of the economic contribution our red meat sector makes, with an annual output of around £885 million from the farm gate, to processors and manufacturers, butchers and retailers – all working tirelessly to provide our people with the healthy, high quality Scotch beef, Scotch lamb and of course our specially selected pork."
Investing in global trade
Earlier this year the Government committed to invest £2 million to boost its programme of global trade shows and missions, £1.6 million for the GREAT food and drink campaign and a new £1 million export support fund for the dairy sector.
In September, the Government also launched a recruitment drive to appoint five extra agri-food attachés to help boost the UK’s agri-food exports, bringing the total number of dedicated UK agri-food attachés to 16. The new attachés will cover Northern Europe, Southern Europe, Australia/New Zealand, South Korea and Africa.
UK red meat exports for this year January to June were worth £860 million – up marginally on the same period in 2022. This was due to increased demand for sheep meat in the Middle East. Dairy exports value for the same six months period was £983 million.
Dr Phil Hadley, AHDB’s director of International Trade Development, said: "AHDB’s participation aligns with the Government's commitment to support British food and drink exports.
"We are committed to delivering on our objectives as outlined in our export strategy Beyond Borders and helping to attract international markets for our levy payers.
“Through the trade show, we are able to strengthen existing partnerships and establish new connections for our levy payers as stated in our export campaign.”
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
