News article
6 October 2009
UK's biggest manufacturing sector launches checklist for success
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PRESS RELEASE
The next Government must support the UK's food and drink sector as a strategic
priority in its own right, according to the Food and Drink Federation (FDF),
which today published a checklist of 20 ways to safeguard the future success of
the
country's biggest manufacturing industry[1].
The checklist sets out the measures that FDF believes the next Government could
adopt to maintain the competitiveness of the food and drink sector. The
measures
are set out in simple steps across five themes: create a vision for food; back
us in going green; cut the red tape; support manufacturers; and protect
innovation[2].
Speaking at a fringe event organised by FDF with the National Farmers' Union and
the British Retail Consortium at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester[3], FDF Director General Melanie Leech will say:
“Our checklist sets out the ways in which we think the next Government should
support an economically important, high value manufacturing sector. All our
ideas
are easy to implement and should be cost neutral for taxpayers."
"But we believe
they will help to safeguard the future success of the UK's biggest
manufacturing
industry – a sector that has an excellent track record of generating wealth for
the nation, providing employment opportunities nationally and responding
responsibly to societal concerns about diet, health and the environment.”
Note to Editors
- The UK food and drink industry is a high value manufacturing sector offering
world class capabilities in the areas of production, logistics, sales,
marketing
and innovation – which combine to create annual Gross Value Added of £21.8bn.
Our
sector is the UK's biggest manufacturing industry, accounting for 15% of total
manufacturing output and directly employing 440,000 people.
There are 7,000
manufacturing businesses in the food and drink sector, together generating
turnover
of £72.8bn.
Despite the credit crunch, we export more than £9bn worth of food
and
drink products a year.
- To download a copy of FDF's checklist: Support a British success story - pdf | 304kb
-
FDF's event, entitled 'Food for Thought: Can the UK Continue to Feed Itself?'
takes place from 8am-9:30am on Tuesday 6 October at the Conservative Party
Conference in Manchester. It will focus on the future viability of the British
food
chain. The event will be chaired by The Rt Hon John Gummer MP.
Speakers are:
James Paice MP, Shadow Agriculture Minister; Melanie Leech, FDF Director
General;
Peter Kendall, President of the National Farmers' Union; and Andrew Opie, Food
Policy Director at the British Retail Consortium.
- The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) is the voice of the food and drink
manufacturing industry – the UK's largest manufacturing sector.
More Information
- FDF Press team
-
Keren McCarron on keren.mccarron@fdf.org.uk or 020 7420 7132
-
Sarah Lovell on sarah.lovell@fdf.org.uk or 020 7420 7131
-
Rebecca Wilhelm rebecca.wilhelm@fdf.org.uk or 020 7420 7140
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