Former FDF CEO Ian Wright has been appointed co-chair of the government’s new Food & Drink Exports Council.
Fellow co-chair and minister for exports Andrew Bowie, who himself only took up the role in October, announced the appointment and said Wright had the credentials to prove a key figure in the task of boosting British exports post-Brexit.
Wright stepped down from the FDF last year and was replaced in December by Karen Betts.
Formerly Diageo’s corporate relations director, Wright took the helm at the FDF in 2015 from former director general Melanie Leech, and developed a reputation as a prolific and sometimes combative frontman for the industry.
He was a major voice during the pandemic and a prominent critic of Brexit, but will now be tasked with a key job in forging new trade links.
The government announced the new council to promote British goods overseas in 2021, with the body designed to work collaboratively across the UK, and with industry and government to increase agriculture, food and drink exports.
After a torrid post-Brexit period during the pandemic, the latest FDF figures showed British food exports to the EU had grown by nearly a fifth in the third quarter of 2022, compared with the same period the previous year.
Exports to both EU and non-EU markets had “increased substantially” from the year before with sales to the EU approaching pre-pandemic levels.
“Our food and drink sector are crucial to exports and the UK economy,” said Bowie. “I’m so delighted to announce Ian Wright as co-chair.
“By working together, I look forward to seeing the council boost British food and drink exports.”
“The food and drink sector are a key engine of the UK economy,” said Wright. “It is crucial to UK export performance. Through industry, government and the devolved administrations working together in the council, we will make a practical contribution to boosting UK food and drink exports.”
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