Today (August 7) would mark the day in the calendar where the British larder would run bare if we fed the nation only British food from January 1, according to NFU Cymru.

Defra figures for 2017 show that Britain produced 60 per cent of its own food. This rate is in long-term decline and NFU Cymru president, John Davies, is urging Welsh Government to put food at the heart of policy decisions.

John Davies said: “The decline in our food self-sufficiency is of real concern. A nation must have the ability to feed itself and these figures show that Britain is falling short.

“With Brexit only eight months away and the recent launch of the Welsh Government ‘Brexit and Our Land’ consultation, we are now in a time of great uncertainty but also a time of real opportunity. NFU Cymru is ambitious for the future of our food and drinks industry and Welsh Government now has the chance to put food production and food security front and centre of the political agenda and Welsh and British farmers are up for the challenge of feeding an ever growing population.

“Welsh and British food is produced to the highest animal welfare and environmental standards in the world, but in order to maintain these standards governments must put in place favourable policies to allow the sector to meet the challenges of a post-Brexit world and to ensure it remains competitive amongst its European counterparts.

“A recent You Gov survey commissioned by NFU Cymru showed that over 80 per cent of consumers in Wales supported the idea of a new domestic agricultural policy providing support for farmers to continue supplying safe, high quality, fully traceable food to the nation.

"In an ever more volatile world, where extreme weather alongside other global challenges will become more frequent, it is vital that future policy in Wales helps ensure that Welsh farmers can continue to deliver a plentiful supply of safe, quality and fully traceable food that the consumer expects from us.”