UK lamb will soon be back on dinner plates across Kuwait following a new deal worth up to £15 million, Food Minister George Eustice announced today.
The re-opened trade route was announced during the minister’s visit to the Gulf to promote British food and drink and strengthen the UK’s trading relationship with this rapidly growing market.
Three major UK suppliers are already set to benefit from the five-year deal – with shipments prepped to leave soon.
The UK exported £625 million worth of food and drink to the region last year, including £80 million of cereal and £22 million of cheese.
Food Minister George Eustice said:
British lamb has a fantastic reputation around the world for its taste and quality and I’m delighted this export success will now be available for diners in Kuwait.
This move to re-open the market for UK-produced lamb is another example of how we are working hard to tap into international markets and build stronger relationships with trading partners around the world.
Total lamb exports from the UK reached £330 million in 2016, up from £300m the previous year, and this latest deal is a further boost to government’s commitment to open more international markets.
The trade mission included a visit to Gulfood in Dubai, where cereal brand Mornflake from Cheshire and a mozzarella producer from Durham were among around 100 UK food and drink companies exhibiting at the world’s largest annual trade show.
Jean-Pierre Garnier, head of export trade development at the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) said:
We have found for some time a high level of appetite from Kuwaiti importers and distributors for British lamb and are delighted to be able at last to supply this market.
We are committed to expanding sales of meat and dairy products in the Gulf region and support the Government’s export work. Our presence at the important Gulfood exhibition with meat and dairy stands testifies our willingness to grow sales and open new markets.
As part of the minister’s visit he witnessed the signing of two Memorandums of Understanding allowing greater collaboration between the UK government and Gulf on projects in aquaculture, fisheries, climate change and marine environments. The first was with the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and the second was with the Gulf-wide Regional Organisation for Protection of the Marine Environment.
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You can read the full International Action Plan for Food and Drink on here
The ban on UK lamb was introduced by Kuwait due to concerns around scrapie – a degenerative disease that affects the nervous systems of sheep and goats. Government vets provided the necessary evidence to allay concerns and demonstrate the world-leading approach we take to protecting animal health in the UK.
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