UK

Welsh red meat industry to grow new markets outside EU

Welsh levy body Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) wants to grow markets outside of Europe which it says that could be very important to Welsh farming’s post-Brexit future.

Posted on Apr 27 ,12:08

The red meat levy board has joined with processing companies to showcase PGI Welsh Lamb and PGI Welsh Beef at two major shows; Food and Hotel Asia in Singapore which took place between 24 and 27 April, and SIAL Montreal in Canada which will be held on 2-4 May.

HCC will also be active in other new and potential future markets. The levy board is supporting a meat processor to join a Welsh trade mission to Qatar, and the body will be represented in a delegation of European food producers exploring market access with officials from China, where it is hoped that permission will be granted for the export of UK beef and lamb over the coming years.

A third of Welsh Lamb is exported; of those exports, the EU is the destination of over 90% of the lamb and beef going from Wales overseas. Volumes of meat sold in newer markets such as Canada and Asia are currently small, but HCC is targeting these countries given the uncertainty over future European trade access after Brexit.

The presence at the two trade shows as well as other events and activities over the next year is funded by a £2 million fund of AHDB red meat levies ring-fenced for collaborative projects and managed by the three GB meat levy bodies – AHDB, HCC and Quality Meat Scotland (QMS). The ring-fenced fund is an interim arrangement while a long-term solution is sought on the issue of levies being collected at point of slaughter in England, for animals which have been reared in Scotland or Wales.

Other activity in the Middle East, Asian and North American markets is supported by the Welsh Government’s enhanced export programme worth £1.5 million over three years. The discussions between food producers’ representatives and China are funded by the EU.

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