Food and drink firms urged to have their say on Brexit issues

Food and drink companies across Shropshire are being asked to take part in a special survey about the impact a no-deal Brexit might have on them.

Workers’ hands sorting biscuits and pralines in a factory for food production

Officials at Defra – the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – want to hear from SMEs working in the agri-food supply chain across the county about the issue.

A Defra spokesman said the Food and Drink Supply Chains policy team wanted to talk to any business which was willing to take part in a 30-minute telephone interview to help officials gather information.

The interview would discuss the firm’s background, their knowledge of the supply chain, what contingency plans they have in place for Brexit, their resilience and what they wanted from Government in terms of planning and response.

Yasmin Sulaman, from the Marches Growth Hub, urged companies to take part so that their views were heard.

“This is an excellent opportunity to feed directly into Defra’s planning process around Brexit. Any company wishing to take part should contact me before November 23 so that I can register their interest with Defra.”

Yasmin can be contacted at Yasmin.Sulaman@marcheslep.org.uk or by phoning 01743 462 026.