7:30pm Thursday 5th February 2009
Developing Wales’ £74million meat export market could boost the economy during the recession.
In 2007, about 20,000 tonnes of sheep meat was exported from Wales, generating £55million for the Welsh economy, with the 9,000 tonnes of beef exported adding another £19m.
Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones said: “Our farming industry makes a significant contribution to the economic prosperity and sustainability of our rural communities.
“The global demand for food is growing and this is a time of major opportunity for our red meat industry to position itself in the UK and wider world markets as a producer of quality products.”
The minister recently announced a £4.5m boost for the red meat industry, to increase financial returns for farmers in Wales.
She added: “This will produce major benefits for the agricultural sector and through them, the wider rural community.”
People are also being urged to support their local economy by buying Welsh produce whenever possible.
NFU Cymru has challenged the Assembly’s entire rural development sub-committee to only eat Welsh produce for a week.
Dai Davies, NFU Cymru president said: “We are hoping that by doing this challenge the members of the rural development sub-committee will experience for themselves how easy or difficult it is to source Welsh produce in Wales.”
The sub-committee is currently undertaking an inquiry into the production and promotion of Welsh food and NFU Cymru hopes the challenge will give them a personal insight into the challenges of the Welsh agri-food sector, particularly the promotion of Welsh produce and the availability of local food in the hospitality sector.
Mr Davies added: “We want to highlight just how good our Welsh produce is and just how wide a range of produce our farmers and food processors produce these days.”
NFU Cymru will be submitting written and oral evidence to the sub-committee this week emphasising the potential contribution Welsh food could make to the economy of Wales.
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