The South West Food and Drink sector is one of the strongest regional sectors in the UK with some 2,200 businesses and 62,000 employees. It offers a variety of local and regional products and has a wide range of local producers. The Food and Drink sector benefits from the leisure and tourism trade with around 20 million visitors spending a high proportion on food and drink. The region has developed a strong reputation for quality food production, especially around local traditional foods. Furthermore, it has been linked with strong branding through initiatives such as Taste of the West and has a reputation for high quality milk, meat, fish, fruit and vegetables products.
Approximately 12% of England’s Food and Drink manufacturing employment is in the South West. The sector contributes £2.6 billion (Gross Value Added, GVA) to the region, representing 4.5% of regional GVA. The physical environment of the region includes 1.8 million hectares of agricultural land and is home to 26% of all organic farmers. The South West has 30% of the UK diary production.
The key factors that drive the sector include changes in consumer demand, changing technology, market power and the continuing regulation of different industries within the sector.
The following key facts about the Food and Drink sector were drawn from the Annual Business Inquiry which is a survey that collects employment and financial information from businesses.
- There were 2,178 Food and Drink businesses in the South West.
- The majority of these businesses (2,092) had fewer than 100 employees.
- Only 86 businesses had 100 or more employees.
- The sector employed some 62,600 employees (2.8% of the South West workforce).
As can be seen most businesses are small, often lifestyle businesses, with strong seasonal demand for workers in the flower, fruit picking and fishing sectors. Business if often constrained by geography and route to market but it will remain an important growth area and one that has benefitted from export growth opportunities with the slide in the value of the £ but recent Euro weakness will not be welcomed.
Author: Lesley Anne Hornbogen
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