i) Major survey provides boost for Welsh red meat sector
A major survey of 1,000 consumers conducted by MRQual research on behalf of Hybu Cig Cymru - Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) has revealed that Welsh-branded lamb is better-regarded than meat labelled at British.
Twice as many people answered that Welsh lamb (47%) tastes the best as opposed to British lamb (23%), 54% of respondents thought that Wales was the most natural place to rear lamb (as opposed to Britain as a whole - 27%) and 64% believed that Welsh lamb was produced on small family farms as opposed to 43% for British lamb.
ii) Welsh lamb enters Middle East hospitality sector
Hybu Cig Cymru - Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) is working on a programme with importers, hotels and restaurants within the Middle East hospitality sector which saw Welsh lamb as a headline sponsor of the Leaders in Food and Beverage Awards.
The amount spent by visitors to the UAE doubled between 2016 and 2019 and work by HCC, Welsh processors and the Welsh Government led to a growth in lamb exports to the Middle East of around 400% between 2018 and 2020.
iii) Five major retailers pledge to halve environmental impact of weekly food shop
Tesco, Sainsbuyr’s, Waitrose, Co-op and Marks & Spencer have agreed to halve the environmental impact of a weekly food shop by 2030.
As part of the pledge, they have agreed to halve the food waste they produce, the environmental impact of the agriculture and seafood in shopper’s baskets, the forests that are cut down to create produce and the amount of global warming that their products cause.