The UK government and wine industry have set an objective of boosting the value of British wine exportation by 1,000 per cent over the next four years, with plans to plant more vineyards across the country in place, TheDrinksBusiness.com reports.
The UK’s environment secretary, Elizabeth Truss, has said the nation’s wine exportation stands a real chance of increasing "ten-fold" by 2020. The ambition is encouraged by a successful 2015 for the sector, during which sales surpassed £100 million.
If the target is met, British wine exportation will be worth over £30 million, with more than 2.5 million bottles being sold abroad each year. To help achieve this, Truss wants 3,000 hectares of vineyard across the country by 2020 (it currently has 2,000 hectares).
The Great British Food Unit, which is designed to support UK food and drink exportation, is involved in the expansion project. Furthermore, Barry Lewis has just been made the United Kingdom Vineyard Association’s first CEO, underscoring the growing importance of wine as a British FMCG.
Truss said, “Production [of wine] has doubled in the last five years, with sales reaching a record breaking £100 million in 2015.
"By using cutting-edge technology, our hard-working grape growers are now producing some of the best wine in the world. Our goal is to harness the ambition of our English wine producers by flying the flag for British produce internationally and exploiting the huge potential for increasing exports. I have no doubt we can take on the Australians, French and Italians at their own game, exporting more of our top quality fizz across the globe and ensuring that the UK’s wine industry continues to be a world-leader."
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Peter Donnelly. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here
