Emyr Jones (President FUW), Sergey Nalobin (Head of Bilateral Group, Russian Embassy), Vladimir Derbenskiy (Agricultural Attaché, Russian Embassy), Roger Williams MP, and Glyn Roberts (Vice President FUW)
Every year the Farmers Union of Wales hosts an event in the Houses of Parliament to celebrate Welsh food and the contribution that agriculture makes to the Welsh nation and its economy.
This year was no exception. It was a fantastic meal full of Welsh taste and flavour – salmon cockles and lava bread followed by Welsh lamb, followed by Welsh cakes and gooseberries.
This year it was particularly important, because two of the guests were the Agricultural Attaché from the Russian Embassy, Mr Vladimir Derbenskiy, and Mr Sergey Nalobin, who is Head of the Bilateral Group. After lunch he emphasized that Russia has a great demand for meat. It particularly wants sheep meat for its large Muslim community and high quality grass fed beef.
Mr Dai Davies OBE, Chairman of Meat Promotion Wales (Hybu Cig Cymru), responded by saying that meat producers in Wales were open to do business and he would ensure that contacts would be made. The Russian diplomats said they would wish to set up exchange visits between Russian and Welsh farmers.
Roger Williams, Lib Dem MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, said:
“This was a particularly important event. The Russian market is very large and would create great opportunities for Welsh farmers. However, it is important to ensure that the UK maintains its high health status. Any outbreak of infectious disease affecting farm animals in this country could wreck export opportunities. Already outbreaks of African swine fever in Poland and the Baltic nations are a great threat to our expanding meat trade. Over the years, I have emphasized to the Government the importance of bio-security at our airports and seaports. I will continue to do this work, because any breakdown would be a disaster for our farmers.
“Once again I would like to congratulate the Farmers Union of Wales on their excellent lunch and their constant endeavours to find new markets for Welsh food producers.”
