Brexit Will more Welsh food and drink feature on menus
Brexit should see Welsh produce feature more on restaurant menus, one of the UK’s largest pub chains has said.
JD Wetherspoons, which has recently introduced a menu of Welsh dishes, said the move had been “incredibly popular”.
It comes as 56 Welsh food and drink producers meet in Cardiff to celebrate their success in the industry’s annual Great Taste Awards.
Meat Promotion Wales said any increase in Welsh food sales would not make up for the loss of access to EU markets.
Wetherspoons, which has 50 premises in Wales, launched its new menu in September.
It is published in both Welsh and English and features dishes and drinks sourced from across the country, including lamb cawl and faggots.
Eddie Gershon, spokesman for the chain, said it was responding to a desire from customers to support local suppliers and farmers.
“Brexit will have a part in that. We only see positive things coming out of it – and one of those will be to actually ensure that produce from Wales features more heavily in our pubs,” he said.
“Commercially it is very viable for us – we do feel that the value of Welshness is very, very important. We want to do something local and specific to Welsh people and also visitors, so they can have a taste of Wales in our pubs themselves.”
The Welsh Government has made food and drink a priority sector and wants to see its annual turnover grow by 30% to £7bn by 2020.
There are around 3,700 Welsh retail products available, but experts argue the scope for growth is substantial given the average supermarket has between 20-30,000 products on its shelves
The results of a survey, external of more than 1,600 UK shoppers, part of a new report on the branding of Welsh produce, suggests people associate with naturalness and quality with products made in Wales.
Andy Richardson, chairman of the Food and Drink Wales Industry Board, said: “This research highlights the importance of Welsh provenance and underpins the confidence we have in our food and drink sector.”
But Kevin Roberts, chairman of Meat Promotion Wales, said any increase in the sales of Welsh food in the UK after Brexit would not make up for the potential loss of easy access to EU markets.
Addressing the organisation’s annual conference, he warned there were big implications particularly for the export-dependent lamb sector.
“Seasonality and carcase balance mean it’s utterly unrealistic to fully replace lamb exports with increased business in the UK market, even if imports were curtailed,” he said.
“We are developing ambitious plans to develop the industry through to 2025,” he explained, “but as we are all aware, there is a potential bump in the road.
