Unlocking a ‘new world of opportunity’ for the UK dairy industry

Dairy UK has published a new export strategy to help the UK dairy industry unlock a ‘new world of opportunity’ on international markets.

The strategy, United Kingdom: Exporting Dairy to the World, identifies actions and recommendations that will enhance the UK dairy industry’s export performance. 

Launching the report, Dr David Dobbin, Chairman of Dairy UK, said: “We have an outstanding British industry producing world-class products and the people in our industry have the ambition and the determination to succeed. To achieve enduring success, we must seize all the opportunities that lie ahead.”

The export strategy’s 17 actions and recommendations include: 

• Ensuring a skilled workforce is equipped for the future;
• Improving the export certification regime;
• Creating a one-stop shop for dairy exporters;
• Establishing world-class inspection and audit practices;
• Identifying market priorities;
• Removing barriers to dairy trade. 

Farming Minister George Eustice said: “We welcome Dairy UK’s ambition to enhance the UK dairy industry’s export performance and we look forward to working closely with them to achieve this.”

Dr Dobbin added: “This new strategy identifies a comprehensive list of steps that can be taken to effect real change in growth and competitiveness in the international market place. Among the key measures is the need for the UK dairy industry to have effective and fit-for-purpose certification and approval mechanisms in place. 

“Our new export strategy will help steer our industry in the right direction and our efforts will need strong support from Government and its agencies to address trade barriers and unlock new opportunities.”

Showcasing how well the UK dairy industry is doing

Dr Judith Bryans, Chief Executive of Dairy UK, commented: “Other dairy exporting countries have followed successful paths and set interesting examples in terms of industry-government cooperation to foster growth and develop exports. We can learn from these experiences and ensure that the UK has efficient and cost-effective systems that support export growth while preserving consumer confidence in the safety and quality of UK dairy products.”

“We have already increased our share of global trade in recent years but there is scope to do much more. To meet our goals, we need to take stock of and showcase how well the UK dairy industry is doing in terms of innovation and promotion, skilling our industry for the future, food safety and environmental credentials. Getting all of these elements right is essential in a highly competitive export market.”