British dairy farmers could receive a long awaited boost following the government’s announcement of a new programme to increase exports.
The Dairy Export Programme, which launched on November 9, comes after the Prime Minister, committed £1 million to the dairy sector at the Farm to Fork summit in May.
The programme is a direct result of this funding and forms part of a wider package of government support for agriculture, food and drink.
This includes an investment of £2 million to boost DBT’s programme of global tradeshows and missions.
It’s hoped the new programme will help UK dairy businesses grow by gaining new opportunities and exploiting overseas markets for their products through a comprehensive package of export support.
£1 million programme to grow exports
It will provide a wide range of targeted support for businesses, through education sessions on how to boost exports and target new markets and trade promotion activity, including an inward buyer trade mission and a UK Dairy Showcase.
It will also provide specialist resource in priority markets dedicated to supporting dairy exports and market intelligence support to help businesses exploit overseas opportunities.
Minister for Exports Lord Offord will visit dairy exporter Lye Cross Farm in Bristol today, where he will launch the programme and hear about their exporting success.
Lord Offord said: “Growing the agri, food and drink sector is key to growing our economy, and I am delighted to launch the Dairy Export Programme which will help businesses grasp exciting new opportunities around the world.
Education sessions, inward buyer trade mission and UK Dairy Showcase
“Last year our dairy exporters sold £2 billion of products to markets worldwide, and the work we are doing to strike up new trade deals will only see that figure rise further and move us forward in the race to £1 trillion of exports by 2030.”
AHDB chief executive Tim Rycroft said: “We welcome today’s announcement of additional government support for the dairy sector and will continue to work collaboratively with government and industry to deliver impactful activities and help maximise global opportunities for our levy payers.”
