The UK’s dairy industry will be key to the government’s aim of growing exports, food minister David Heath has suggested.
The government aims to double UK exports to GBP1trn (US$1.5trn) by 2020. Speaking at the IFE exhibition in London yesterday (19 March), Heath told just-food there are “hard-headed business reasons” behind the UK government’s move to back dairy exports in particular.
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Dairy exports contribute GBP1.2bn to the UK economy each year, which Heath explained makes it one of the largest single categories contributing to the country’s GBP18bn in food exports each year.
The sector is also well positioned to benefit from growing global demand for dairy products, as consumers in emerging markets increasingly adopt western-style eating habits.
Significantly, the minister added: “People around the world have heard about British quality… too few have tasted it… Dairy is an area where UK companies really differentiate themselves in quality.”
Defra has stepped up activities to promote and support food companies looking to grow exports, Heath said. Speaking at a Dairy Export Forum, organised by UKTI and Defra, Heath emphasised the Department has been “banging the drum” to promote UK food internationally. Secretary of State Owen Paterson attended a trade show in China, while Heath has visited events in the Middle East and Thailand.
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By GlobalDataThe government has also been working behind the scenes to open up new export markets for UK food manufacturers. Heath said Defra aims, where possible, to eliminate regulatory hurdles and red tape that prove restrictive as UK firms look to expand in markets like China.
“China is not an easy market… They have some rules that we don’t like very much and they change these from time to time. On the other side of the coin, they would say the EU has some [barriers] that they don’t like very much either,” Heath commented.
He added the Government is in talks over the establishment of a single set of standards for exports to ASEAN countries.
However, even as Defra encourages UK dairy companies to “expand their horizons”, Heath acknowledged the sector must be “as competitive as possible at home” in order to deal with the UK “dairy deficit”. Dairy imports into the UK are higher than its exports.
