On Thursday 10th September, I asked the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Rt. Hon Elizabeth Truss MP about what support the Government offers to promote British food and drink. I welcome the Secretary of State’s response and support for local Christmas pudding manufacturer, Matthew Walker, which I visited with the Secretary of State last year.
Matthew Walker supplies 96% of the UK’s Christmas puddings and it’s great to have the world’s oldest Christmas pudding manufacturer here in Amber Valley and I welcomed the opportunity to highlight this in the House. I welcome the Secretary of State’s commitment to supporting small businesses to export their food product and welcome the Government’s initiatives in the area with the Great British Food unit and further integration with UK Trade and Investment (UKTI).
Nigel Mills MP: What steps the Government are taking to promote British food and drink.
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Rt. Hon Elizabeth Truss MP: We are committed to expanding exports and promoting British food and drink, which is a £100 billion-a-year industry. We want to make better use of the GREAT brand and will be running trade missions this autumn to Germany and China.
Nigel Mills MP: The Secretary of State saw on her visit to Matthew Walker in Heanor the importance of exports to delivering growth, as well as the great attraction that great British products have overseas. What more can her Department do by working with UK Trade & Investment to help small businesses start to export their food products?
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Rt. Hon Elizabeth Truss MP: I thank my hon. Friend both for his question and for the excellent puddings that we enjoyed at the Matthew Walker factory. We certainly filled our boots that day! I was amazed to hear that that company supplies 96% of the UK’s Christmas puddings, and ships puddings all the way to Australia. I want to champion fantastic businesses such as that through trade missions and the Great British Food Unit, as well as integrating more closely with what UKTI does.
Don’t forget, if you’d like to receive regular updates of my appearances in Parliament straight to your inbox, you can sign up to receive email alerts every time I represent you in Parliament, click here to sign up!