Government and food industry go for growth
PRESS RELEASE
Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Rt Hon Danny Alexander MP, today joined food
and drink manufacturers and members of the All-Party Parliamentary Food and
Drink Manufacturing Group to discuss industry's '2020Vision'[1] to deliver 20% sustainable growth by 2020. Following last week's launch of the
Government-backed Farming, Food and Drink Exports Action Plan to boost exports
of
British food and drink to high growth markets, today's event sought to find
other ways to unlock food and drink manufacturers' potential to deliver
sustainable
growth.[2]
Top of the agenda were key industry issues including Britain's R&D
capability,
demand for British brands in developing export markets, reform of the tax
system
and the impending skills shortage. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury led the
discussion, highlighting Government's work to support the industry in these
vital
areas.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Rt Hon Danny Alexander MP, said:
“The food and
drink industry has shown great resilience and adaptability in recent years.
This
Coalition Government is keen to support the future success of the industry by
creating the right conditions for the sector to thrive.”
Jim Moseley, FDF President and Managing Director of General Mills UK, said: “UK
manufacturers are determined to maximize their contribution to UK recovery and
deliver sustainable growth. It is clear that we can achieve this with the right
entrepreneurial approach from food businesses and the right regulatory
framework
from government.”
John Stevenson MP, All-Party Parliamentary Food and Drink Manufacturing Group
Chair, said:
“Food and drink manufacturing in the UK is a Great British success story,
making
a significant contribution to employment, growing GDP, and producing iconic
brands for the home and export markets. As the largest manufacturing sector, it
is
important that parliamentarians find ways to facilitate growth for the future.”
Photographs of today's event are available at FDF's Flickr site.
Notes for editors
1. The Food and Drink Federation (FDF), the voice of the UK food and drink
manufacturing industry, the largest manufacturing sector, launched its '2020
Vision'
ambition in December 2011 in partnership with Government department's BIS and
Defra.
2. Food and drink contributes substantially to the UK economy and has scope to
grow further, with recent figures showing that exports for the nine months Jan
–
Sept 2011 exceeded exports for the same period in 2010 by 12.2%. (HMRC data)
Findings from the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) and Grant Thornton's
'Sustainable Growth in the Food and Drink Manufacturing Industry' report3,
published in
December 2011, highlighted a number of growth drivers including export
opportunities in developing nations and growth in value and Health &
Wellness product
categories, for example.
Work is already underway to enable the industry to sustain success into the
future; an example of this is through FDF's Careers Campaign to attract talent
and
skills in critical areas such as food science and engineering.
More information
For further information please contact the FDF press Team:
-
-
Nicki Hunt on or 020 7420 7132 - nicki.hunt@fdf.org.uk
-
Rebecca Wilhelm or 020 7420 7140 - rebecca.wilhelm@fdf.org.uk
-
Sarah Jenkinson or 020 7420 7131 - sarah.jenkinson@fdf.org.uk
-
Anna Taylor or 020 7420 7118 - anna.taylor@fdf.org.uk