New overseas markets are continuing to provide fresh opportunities for exporting Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef, according to Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC).
HCC chairman Dai Davies believes the future of Welsh red meat is looking affluent . At the opening day of the Royal Welsh Show he told a breakfast reception: “We are hopeful that we will soon be able to export to the USA and to more countries in the Middle East.
“Wales is the largest sheep producing region in Europe and the biggest exporter in volume, not only to the EU but also to third countries.
“We are therefore pleased to have received a second tranche of funding from the EU to further develop our export trade, particularly to Scandinavia which we believe offers a great potential to our exporters.” Davies has expressed gratitude to the Welsh Government for providing HCC with a £400,000 investment through enhanced funding over the last year.
“Our analysis shows that this has resulted in a huge £6.1 million return from the international marketplace, which is excellent news for the Welsh economy.”
Additionally, Davies is confident that HCC’s involvement with EID Cymru will assist in increasing the demand for Welsh Lamb both on a local and international level.
EID Cymru is an innovative Welsh sheep electronic recording system and database, allowing sheep activity to be traced throughout the supply chain. It also provides a robust movement and traceability system.
“Once fully operational, EID Cymru will play an important role in providing both domestic and international buyers with additional reassurance over the traceability and provenance of Welsh Lamb.”