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| Food and drink industry to be boosted by action plan | Food and drink industry to be boosted by action plan |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Food and drink producers in Wales will be boosted by a new partnership between the industry and government, the food minister has said. | Food and drink producers in Wales will be boosted by a new partnership between the industry and government, the food minister has said. |
| A new action plan to drive sales up by 30% to £7bn by 2020 has been launched by Alun Davies in Cardiff. | |
| A new board to speak for the food industry will be set up and Welsh branding developed to promote trade. | A new board to speak for the food industry will be set up and Welsh branding developed to promote trade. |
| Mr Davies said he wanted to focus on exports, skills and training to open up new opportunities for producers. | Mr Davies said he wanted to focus on exports, skills and training to open up new opportunities for producers. |
| At the launch, he added he wanted the government to be called to account if the targets are not reached. | |
| The action plan - Towards Sustainable Growth - is said to recognise the importance of a sector which the Welsh government says accounts for 45,000 jobs and a turnover of £5.2bn a year. | The action plan - Towards Sustainable Growth - is said to recognise the importance of a sector which the Welsh government says accounts for 45,000 jobs and a turnover of £5.2bn a year. |
| The list of measures include: | The list of measures include: |
| The minister promised a review of the promotion of Welsh food and drink after scrapping the True Taste Awards in 2013, which he said had not pushed the Welsh origins of produce strongly enough. | The minister promised a review of the promotion of Welsh food and drink after scrapping the True Taste Awards in 2013, which he said had not pushed the Welsh origins of produce strongly enough. |
| 'Central to culture' | 'Central to culture' |
| Sustainable growth will also be stressed as a key element of the action plan, to be presented by Mr Davies to an audience of 150 food businesses, farmers' leaders and other interested parties on Thursday. | Sustainable growth will also be stressed as a key element of the action plan, to be presented by Mr Davies to an audience of 150 food businesses, farmers' leaders and other interested parties on Thursday. |
| Mr Davies said the sector was "progressing well", but needed to do more to reach the target of increasing turnover by 30% in seven years. | Mr Davies said the sector was "progressing well", but needed to do more to reach the target of increasing turnover by 30% in seven years. |
| He said he had listened to feedback from the industry on the type of support it needed. | He said he had listened to feedback from the industry on the type of support it needed. |
| He said: "I cannot overstate the importance of Welsh food. It has an impact on almost every part of our daily lives from our economy, climate, health and our ability to learn - as well as being central to the culture of Wales. | He said: "I cannot overstate the importance of Welsh food. It has an impact on almost every part of our daily lives from our economy, climate, health and our ability to learn - as well as being central to the culture of Wales. |
| "Despite successes in recent years, so far we have only scratched the surface in terms of what we can achieve and I see this action plan opening up new opportunities for our food producers in terms of exports, skills and training and increasing the profile and reputation of Welsh food." | "Despite successes in recent years, so far we have only scratched the surface in terms of what we can achieve and I see this action plan opening up new opportunities for our food producers in terms of exports, skills and training and increasing the profile and reputation of Welsh food." |
| Further attempts to protect the names of Welsh products - following official EU recognition of such as sea salt from Anglesey and Pembrokeshire potatoes - are also likely to be supported. | Further attempts to protect the names of Welsh products - following official EU recognition of such as sea salt from Anglesey and Pembrokeshire potatoes - are also likely to be supported. |