A selection of British dairy will be promoted in India for the first time ever in a bid to boost dairy exports.
Promotional events across the capital city of Delhi over the next two months will entice the local populace to try British cheese.
The tastings have been organised by an Indian dairy importer and supported by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) as part of its new export marketing programme which aims to promote premium cheese around the world.
Jean Pierre Garnier, Head of Exports for AHDB, said: “We have chosen Delhi as the most appropriate city in India for this promotion as many shoppers there are used to international products and we already have a good market presence there.
“Obviously, we market in India mid-price products which sell at a premium against local cheese but are still affordable for a large part of the population.
“The Indian dairy market is the world’s largest and, although India is not yet one of our major outlets for cheese, the objective of this promotion is to support the long-term development in this country which has a huge sales potential.
Mr Garnier said the Indian consumer and retail scene is changing fast with an increased aspiration for imported food products on the back of growing incomes.
He continued: “This promotion will also help to develop our image as a producer of tasty, high quality and sophisticated cheeses in the face of fierce competition from other European countries.”
EU's largest customer
After Brexit, the UK would be the EU’s largest customer for dairy products, if trade continued at recent levels.
According to AHDB Dairy, the UK imported around £2.5bn worth of dairy produce from the EU-27 (the 27 Member States of the EU, excluding the UK) during 2015.
This is equal to around 20% of EU-27’s total global exports.
Despite excellent milk producing credentials, the UK has the second largest net dairy deficit in the world, behind China.
This trade deficit is largely driven by cheese imports, which made up around half of the value of the UK’s total dairy imports in 2015.
It also imports significant quantities of infant formula, butter, yoghurts and buttermilk. As a result, the UK is one of the most valuable global markets for dairy and will be a key target for many dairy exporting nations.
AHDB Dairy has said it will now look at which EU Member States rely most heavily on the UK for their dairy exports.
