Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) is ready to build on export success for Welsh red meat following the first shipment of Welsh lamb to the US, according to HCC chair Catherine Smith.

Addressing delegates at SIAL Paris, she highlighted that international demand for Wales’ red meat products was strong and celebrated the recent news of Welsh Lamb being exported to the USA for the first time in twenty years.

HCC is leading a delegation of PGI Welsh lamb and PGI Welsh beef exporters at the Paris trade show, meeting current customers and establishing new links to help grow an export trade which is already worth £210 million a year to the Welsh economy.

SIAL brings together all the major players in the global food and drink industries with over 310,000 trade visitors from over 200 countries.

Smith said:

As well as highlighting the importance of European export markets to the sector, Smith also paid tribute to Welsh farmers’ efforts in producing food sustainably.

She explained: "Independent research shows that lamb and beef produced in Wales has a lower carbon footprint compared with that from other parts of the world.

"We are committed to becoming a global exemplar of how to produce quality food, sustainably and efficiently."