Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake has joined AHDB and red meat and dairy exporters showcasing their products at Anuga in Cologne – this year’s biggest agri-food trade show.

Mr Hollinrake, Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business at the Department for Business and Trade, threw his support behind red meat and dairy exporters showcasing their products at the event on Monday (Oct 9).

Mr Hollinrake met with exporters, including pork business Dingley Dell (pictured), on the AHDB stand in the British Meat Pavilion and the jointly organised AHDB and Government Dairy Pavilion stand at the event, which attracts more than 100,000 influential visitors from around the world. The red meat stand includes dedicated meeting areas and features high-end dishes for visitors to sample quality meat and dairy products sustainably produced by British farmers.

Addressing around 300 key industry stakeholders at the AHDB British Meat Dinner, Mr Hollinrake said: “Across the UK, our agriculture, food and drink sectors help create thousands of well-paid jobs and grow our economy. I’m delighted to be here at Anuga, and to meet with UK businesses selling their products around the world.

“The UK is home to world-class food and drink and this government is committed to supporting our producers and manufacturers as they look to expand further into the overseas market.”

Anuga, provides the ideal platform for exporters to connect with international buyers, build new relationships, and expand their presence in the global market. Earlier this year the Government committed to invest £2 million to boost its programme of global trade shows and missions, £1.6 million for the GREAT food and drink campaign and a new £1 million bespoke export support fund for the dairy sector.

In September), the Government also launched a recruitment drive to appoint five extra agri-food attachés to help boost the UK’s agri-food exports, bringing the total number o dedicated UK agri-food attachés to 16. The new attachés will cover Northern Europe, Southern Europe, Australia/New Zealand, South Korea and Africa.

UK red meat export for this year January to June were worth £860 million – up marginally on the same period in 2022. This was due to increased demand for sheep meat in the Middle East. Dairy exports value for the same six months period was £983 million.

Dr Phil Hadley, AHDB’s Director of International Trade Development, said: “We are excited to host the Minister at our largest stand this year. AHDB’s participation aligns with the Government’s commitment to support British food and drink exports. We are committed to delivering on our objectives as outlined in our export strategy– Beyond Borders and helping to attract international markets for our levy payers.

“Through the trade show, we are able to strengthen existing partnerships and establish new connections for our levy payers as stated in our export campaign.”