 Thank you firstly to the board and the Welsh Government for the time in pulling together the strategy and indeed this webinar today It's certainly been a challenging time in doing that So we'll hopefully lay before you today something that you'll be very keen to engage with and be involved with Unfortunately the Minister won't be with us today. She was going to join us, but she's been called away to Cabinet So she sends her sincere apologies. It's certainly not a lack of interest on her behalf And we're very lucky to have Dave Morris from the Welsh Government here today to Give the viewpoint to the Welsh Government So just by way of brief introduction As opposed to war generation The last five months is something that we've not really seen before Yeah, we all know it's been disruptive We all know it's been stressful and we know it's been incredibly unsettling for all involved and we know we're not out of it yet We recognize that whilst some food and drink businesses have thrived in the crisis The vast majority have suffered terribly badly and we should recognize that many of us have actually lost Loved ones and friends to this absolutely callous virus. So in this respect, I guess you could probably say we may be the lucky ones But I just want to recognize that we know that actually businesses have been suffering quite badly And indeed some have been doing quite well. So there's a real polarized view there During the crisis the food and drink board has been meeting regularly sometimes daily more recently weekly I mean, we're working with the Welsh Government to provide solutions Hopefully to the many problems that have encountered and we're still meeting For those of you who are interested just a quick plug here, we're looking to recruit new board members And hopefully you will see in the adverts that have gone up on the website If not, please let us know and we would welcome applications from members of the food and drink industry We spent a lot of time engaging with Welsh food and drink businesses over the last two weeks And what we've been doing is running a number of these webinars and some of you may have been on the webinar That's my colleague Hugh Thomas and the colleagues from the Welsh Government have run in terms of finance That was run this morning. It's a series of webinars and that's really important because it actually gives people Opportunity to understand what it is they can do to get their businesses back up and running given the fact that finance is It's pretty critical. So we'll come on to that later So the purpose of the webinar today is to present the coronavirus recovery strategy to you all to key industry stakeholders The outcome that we need to achieve is that we want all of you to understand and particularly engage in this strategy We all know it's a completely new and challenging situation and there will be opportunities that are presented to us. So The key point from what we're saying here is no plan is no plan is perfect But no plan is any worth while it's sat on the shelf. What we need your help is to bring it alive And really turn this strategy into something that will benefit Welsh food and drink sector the format of today's webinar is that we will Dave Morris will hand over to Dave Morris in a minute who will give the Welsh Government a perspective of the strategy And hopefully give you a view about how seriously the government intend to take this strategy forward working with industry What we'll then do is actually go through each of the 11 Action points and we'll do that by going through each of the board members will go through one or even two And so a you'll meet these the board members and secondly we'll go through one by one So you understand what is it we're trying to do? What is the purpose? What is the outcome for each and just hopefully bring each of the 11 action points to life? In terms of the objectives of what we're trying to achieve We are trying to maximize the number of food and drink businesses that survive The the coronavirus disruption. I think they'll slide or go. Here we go. The objectives are up now So our aim is to maximize the number of food and drink businesses that survive the imminent Disruption caused by coronavirus and we recognize it's not over yet Um, that's really important that we do is get those businesses up and running again Secondly it's self-evident. There are lots of jobs associated with food and drinking in Wales And it's really important that we actually keep those going Thirdly, we want to get the sector recovering as fast as possible now I um, we all know that some businesses particularly those that supplied retail have done well Some businesses whose supply and retail have not done well because the products have been deselected for a number of reasons We also know that those businesses whose supply and hospitality have been devastated in the way they're affected So it's critical that we get those businesses up and running in whatever way we can The the fourth point there is focusing on what we call market aligned solutions Yeah, we need to have an absolute ruthless ruthless Focusing on what the market needs and what come on to that in a few minutes But we know that the market is changing I'm not going to pre-empt that because the more board members will be talking about that But we have to make sure in wales. We are on top of the changing market for food and drink across the whole of the sector And of course if you believe the headlines people are saying there may be another peak again in december And of course, we know that coincides with uh, the b-word brexit So we know that we're heading for a very challenging time. So yeah, we're up for the challenge We know it's going to be a big issue. Um, we need to make sure that we focus relentlessly on what the market needs And finally just to put this in context You're aware that we had an action plan that took us from 2014 to 2020 And it had a number of objectives one of which was growing from five to seven billion Well, you know as a collective industry in the government, we've achieved that target So what the board was working on was a strategy with welsh government to take us forward for the next five 10 years of our growth The purpose of this strategy is really a 12 to 18 month strategy that will hopefully pull us through corona virus So it does not replace that new long-term strategy But it's a stop gap as I said before to get us straight out of corona virus Okay, so that's that's a little bit of scene setting what I'd like to do now is just pass over to David Morris from the welsh food and drink. Sorry for the welsh government David's very kindly going to give us an overview About the welsh government's view to this what his summary is what his take is and what his expectations are For the welsh government. So can I pass over to david morris, please? Uh, thank you, andy and good afternoon all Um, as adi has mentioned the minister would like to extend her apologies She really did want to be part of this webinar today, but Last minute challenges arose and she couldn't be here But she has asked me to share a few of her thoughts With you Now firstly to thank you all for joining the webinar because um, it's great to have so many businesses actively engaged in the conversation And it's a tool if you like that we're probably going to use more often and because it seems to be working so well um She also would like to sort of reiterate the point that Despite the unexpected events and covet 19 and indeed the challenges that brexit and eu exit will present again at the end of this year And the welsh the minister and the welsh government and food division are there to support the sector Because the food and drink sector is really important in welsh The food chain as a whole employs about 230 000 people That's an awful lot of people and then minister knows that there's a number of jobs at risk there as well Because of of all the problems that go with that the car has thrown at different parts of the chain Andy mentioned uh the fact that we had the the target of seven billion turnover to achieve Under the the current food and drink action plan And i'll just correct him really because he said we achieved the target We actually exceeded the target and we reached 7.4 billion at the end of 2019 compared to a seven billion target in 2020 And you know, that's no mean achievement And that's down to the the businesses themselves as well as the the wraparound sort of broad spectrum support That has been provided and if you take into account that we had the brexit referendum in june 2016 And that led to a degree of uncertainty for the sector Since that period and yet businesses have with their optimism and determination and innovation have carried on and exceeded the target we set And our support has evolved hugely over that period and we've introduced innovative programs of support such as product project helix to to stimulate and encourage more innovation in the sector and an awful lot has happened Since 2014 and the plan was originally published We initiative such as the food business cluster initiative And it's great because we have the majority of food businesses in wales are now engaged in the clusters program And that's a direct opportunity to for Government officials to work closely with businesses to understand what are the issues that matter to businesses And to help those businesses to come up with solutions and to take advantage of opportunities that they identify And another interesting and novel program is the coupine program the program that helps startups and small micro businesses To grow and succeed and and to help them to acquire the skills and support they need So all of those programs will will continue and Andy has mentioned that our current strategy is due to end this year 2020 We've already done a huge amount of work on the new strategy And but be given the crisis of covet 19 The welch government and the board working really closely together have come up with the covet 19 recovery plan which you're going to hear more about today and It's important to say that when covet started or covet happened in wales in 20 in march of this year We didn't just draw halt to the programs of support that were already in place And instead actually we we we really increased the momentum with some of those programs And those programs carry on but what we are doing is reconfiguring a number of those programs Both to address the covet 19 challenges To make sure we can take full advantage of new and developing opportunities And also so that we can support businesses through the brexit change because you know EU exit hasn't gone away and there are challenges there for food businesses And there will also be opportunities and we want to make sure that we help you To develop those opportunities as well So i'll now hand you back to andy and he'll take you through the the actions in the covet 19 recovery plan. Thank you Thank you very much david and i'm one of the guests you correct me on that quite rightly we exceeded our target and I would like to see any other Food and drink businesses in the uk that are grown at the same rate So I think the message there is we're clearly doing something right and that's obviously a combination of food businesses And what government are doing so we want to keep that going um As I mentioned and david mentioned what we're going to present to you now Is a plan it's a strategic plan There's two things one is if we if we say we've done a good job and leave it today then we've done nothing Yeah, what we have to do now is actually ask for your help and other people's help in the industry To really bring this to life and make sure we do something as a result of it So the purpose of today is no more than just out of courtesy present the 11 points of the plan to you all Um, I conscious and you know, we're very conscious on the call that it's not a two-way dialogue Um, but what we want to do is please please please send your questions in on the chat I won't pick on people. I will just pick up themes and individual questions And again, we want this to be beginning of a conversation So the way we're going to do this is We're going to I'm going to first pass over to Norma Barry board member Norma will introduce herself She will cover the first point and then we will pass through the different members of the board seamlessly, hopefully passing on the baton Um till we finish with justine um fresh a point 11 at which point will hopefully pick up some of the The chat questions you've got later on. So Norma, can I hand over to you please to cover my intelligence? Yeah, thank you. Thank you very much chair um Good afternoon everyone and it's really good that so many of you have have tuned into this webinar and As david said, it's a great great way of communicating with the industry And as stated by the chair the primary purpose of this webinar Is to ensure that the recovery plan is fully understood and that you engage in its delivery And I'm I'm covering the first section Which is about monitoring market intelligence and ensuring Welsh government support is based on this intelligence And the importance of scanning the external environment continually by monitoring marketing intelligence Amongst other major economic environmental social and political issues is fundamental to the survival of all businesses This is why the board and the Welsh government have prioritized this action and included it and are including it for the longer term Whilst there will always be a need for food and drink We have actually seen demand drop in recent months of about 27 by about 27 Our experience has shown that external factors Can have an immediate effect on the operation of any business and we need to be prepared The tourism and hospitality businesses have been particularly hard to hit Which in turn has impacted on some of our Welsh food and drink businesses in particular of the food service companies Although there has been an opening up of these sectors over recent weeks It is likely that it'll be some years if ever before we see a return to previous levels of business The board in partnership with Welsh government is supporting the sector to become more responsive to economic and other changes at the macro and micro levels Apart from COVID-19, we are faced with significant strategic challenges in respect of Brexit climate change and changing consumer habits and behaviors That a lot of these are arising as a result of the the pandemic and its economic consequences These have implications for your businesses in terms of supplies Manufacturing products in response to changing consumer demands Organizing your operational arrangements logistics and distribution channels Your cash flows and access to capital and the health and welfare of your staff Which is becoming increasingly important more important rather Recent market intelligence indicates that product ranges are now being rationalized More consumers of all ages Includes in the elderly are buying online and people are likely to be looking to buy value ranges and subject to disposable income The occasional treats freezing in There appears to be less reliance on ready meals and more home cooking With concerns about healthy eating and an inclination to eat outside the home on fewer occasions as well as the preference for buying local At a micro i.e company level, what does this mean for our producers and what actions do you need to take to survive and prosper in the current and future challenging times In the light of current market intelligence, you might want to consider the following Don't overlook the importance of scanning the external environment and trends and being prepared for the unexpected I think that's one lesson we can learn from this pandemic Reconfiguring your operations to look after the health of the workforce Training of staff on the new normal Taking advantage of technological developments to improve productivity Ensure product ranges meet consumer trends and market demands and review your logistics and sales channels Finally, just to remind you that there are other strategic issues impacting on the sector apart from covet and brexit And these are going to impact on your business going forward And these factors include an age aging population slower economic growth, which is going to be inevitable continual environmental pressures political polarization health and well-being being high on government's agendas and digital digital and technological advances Welsh government will be doing what it can to support you in addressing these issues through its monitoring activities and its various support Mechanisms will be based on this market intelligence As business owners, it is fundamentally down to you to engage through the clusters and various networks in order to understand this market intelligence And to act in order to continue to develop your your companies. Thank you very much And I'm now going to hand over to Hugh Thomas Thank you, Norma Just to introduce myself, I'm Hugh Thomas the managing director of having produce and another board member I'm dealing with number two on the list of actions, which is a bit of a catch already. It's the practical business advice What I think we're saying here is that there's some great programs already being delivered by the Welsh government And what we're trying to do is you know, it's keep the energy within those programs and further enhance them in light of COVID I think David mentioned that earlier So if you talk about the advice is already available on leadership marketing business planning innovation product reformulation to the programs that Are already offered by the Welsh government It's it's keeping our energy in those in those areas and you know, you added more resource to the to those areas I think if you go if you're not aware of the programs that are available, you know, I would recommend to everybody to You know look at the the website the the food and drink Wales website the food innovation website To you know to see the programs that are available But I suppose, you know, some of the most notable ones are things like food innovation Wales Project Helix, you know, I think we've got David speaking later on a little Has given more detail on that There's a cluster that's been a fantastic success the last couple of years You know, so that's a that's a great conduit for everybody to communicate You know with the fantastic range of consultants that are available to support businesses in Wales Coine, you know helping micro businesses these type of things and things like the trade development program meet the buyer You know, you know these types of programs are already there. So All I would say is this is, you know adding energy to the programs are already there and You know, perhaps tailoring them for COVID as well So if is it if you're unaware of the of the programs that are already offered by the Welsh government I would recommend that everybody familiarizes themselves with those so So I think that's that that bit from me Andy. I'll pass back to Andy Okay, thank you very much Hugh Sorry, everybody. You got me again for the next two points. So the first one is actually online So what we're looking to do here is to pick up on the fact that I think probably all know already that certainly during the crisis online sales have taken off stratospherically Um, and it's really important that we actually understand what those trends are And that Welsh food and drink and the supply chain is completely connected to that Um, there were no doubt there are opportunities And I know it's actually very difficult saying that there are opportunities at the moment when most of us are in crisis mode But I think it's really important that we try to understand What of the trends that are going on at the moment, which of those are going to stick online being one What does it look like in 6 12 2 3 or even 4 months time So 3 or 4 years time see what those trends are going to be sticking and actually address start address our offering accordingly in Wales and I think there's two parts to it one is actually um Developing online is not just about helping people to develop really good websites Although that is part of it and part of it is understanding What is engaging about the Welsh food and drink brand? But more importantly, it's about how we access those online You know are there ways we can do it smartly? Um, can we do it collectively in a collaborative way? Do we need to work together with distributors to get Welsh projects produced to markets? You deliver to homes, you know, there are a number of things that need to be done In terms of accessing this online behavior And it also ties in very neatly with what Norm was saying and I think did you mention the online because We have to really understand how it forms part of the other trends of what the consumer is doing going forward So it's really just to make a flag that the third point of our strategy is About capturing the opportunity that we believe online presents Okay, so that's the third point The fourth point which i'm going to cover as well is about productivity resilience and risk management And what we're trying to do is to say look we need to target investment in people technology and premises as well To make sure that we actually focusing on produce added value products that of course the market wants But the way we want to do that is as I said productivity is absolutely essential. We need to look Such tools such as lean principles. I'm sure most of you many of you actually use those already And we have to really enable that and I know as an aside I've been showing some work in the dairy sector the uk dairy sector Looking at productivity and I know that it's a very sensitive subject because as an aside You know our evidence we have is that 80 percent of producers think they're in the top 25 percent And therefore it is quite a sensitive thing for a lot of people And we we also have to recognize that What is holding back? Businesses varies between different businesses. So it's not one or two solutions that fit all so Productivity is not a cliche It is definitely something that we need to work on collectively And it's not something that the board or even the Welsh government are going to solve on our own I'm also involved in the uk food and drink sector council and there was a work stream there looking at productivity So it's very important That we are part of that and understand what our opportunities are in Wales So that's productivity the second point on the fourth point Is about resilience No, I don't think anybody saw coronavirus coming and I don't know anybody who had coronavirus on their risk register And it is very difficult because a lot of businesses have done extremely well out of Taking advantage of key markets And we all know that those that focus brilliantly on on hospitality Have unfortunately been being hit very badly and that's certainly no criticism of their business at all And I don't think anybody foresaw that you would have to find a situation where hospitality would be shut down overnight But what we have to do is to try to understand is what equals a resilient business model Can we help businesses develop their strategies? It's a question rather proposal Can we help businesses develop their strategies to ensure they are more resilient business models? And partly can we actually help with their risk mitigation with their risk management? Really understand what the points of risks are It's not about underwriting them. It's about can we find innovative different ways solutions to help them do that? So the fourth point there was really about Developing a more productive resilient and less risky business models and You know, we hope that we can look at things such as automation technical excellence lean principles Certainly the benefits of working in collaboration and many of you will be involved in the cluster concept And actually fundamentally looking at efficiencies gained through sustainable practices. So Sustainability is a big part of that So the fourth point of the plan is quite a big one and it's going to need a lot of unpacking But it's so fundamental to our success Okay, so what I'd like to do now is pass the virtual baton on now to Alison another board member who will be talking about added value Thanks very much. Thank you Andy Okay, my my bit is about supporting businesses and supply chains to add value based on research market opportunities and through working with research innovation and product development partners The Wales is known Throughout the world for its primary products And in my opinion, we need to make more of those and get them get them better known even better known So everything i'm going to mention needs industry buying and enthusiasm to work And it has to be a partnership between the Welsh government producers and the delivery partners And all the actions and all the people who will deliver them are designed to help businesses be more sustainable And spread the risk between different markets Because a lot of us found in covet The beginning of covet and at its peak But we had literally all our eggs in one basket and we need to try to guard against that in the future So as a producer, I know how lucky we are to have the resources to draw on and I know how much we've We've appreciated the support in the last few months So a lot of work is done through the clusters And those businesses that work together are open to helping each other and The other the other really important point is that they can influence what's on offer So if they want something different to what's on offer, they can ask for it Research reports are available from the lights of Cantor IGD IGD and Brookdale Consulting and they're available freely on the Welsh government food and drink website And also through the cluster leads. So I would encourage you to have a look at those We also have the three food technology centres who will support businesses to achieve salsa and BRC Accreditations, which are essential now for working with larger retailers and manufacturers And I think as Andy has already spoken, Coine is working with micro businesses on a one-to-one basis And I'm happy to say there's a flow of new business inquiries coming forward Even in these troubled times The clusters also hold free to enter virtual and physical events. So this year we had a virtual tuck-in Which was a marketing conference Organised by the fine food cluster under the umbrella of the food and drink industry board And that was showcasing best practice in marketing and product development And it also acts as a B2B platform The clusters also run on online courses in food and drink trade Oh, sorry as part of the food and drink trade program on selling skills e-commerce setting up amazon accounts linked in for business data management et cetera and there was a whole slew of webinars around maximising social media and looking at mental health and HR issues to name but a few Another initiative from the trade development program is carry comery carry blasts The virtual marketing campaign which all producers are welcome to join There's a downloadable toolkit to use on on the celebration days with set dates to target It's on the business wales website The next one is this friday and it's heralded by a film with rod gilbert And the next one is in september the third Visit wales is also well working closely with the food division to promote it It's mainly business to consumer and it encourages consumers to support the hospitality industry Welsh producers and retailers by buying Welsh food and drink And then finally as part of this I wanted just to talk briefly about the sustainable brand values program Domestic and overseas consumers want high quality standards in terms of food production animal welfare and sustaining our natural environment And different markets want different attributes So I read a piece in by brookdale consulting telling me for example that the uk is concerned about single use plastics While South americans are worried about the use of water Not something that we suffer from a lack of in wales And asians are more focused on health with mentions of salt sugar facts and calories in the food that they consume So this program will drive continuous improvement by being inclusive and sharing an evidence in good practice against robust quality standards framework And it's being taken forward by a special interest cluster group with members drawn from across the clusters plus academic partners to add value Is is a bit of a tricky one because healthy products are quite hard to achieve if you're making something like pies Or indeed harvesting sea salt But manufacturers can work towards using clean ingredients and so would be healthy from this perspective And this cluster will also tie into special interest groups such as sustainable red meat and dairy And carry out supply chain work to substitute Welsh ingredients for imported ones Which is obviously very useful as we Finally sever our ties with Europe And better understand the areas of sustainable work that will make a real difference to the bottom line in everyday business So i'm handing back now to Hugh. Thank you to talk about affordable finance Thank you Alison and I think We go back a couple of years Until when the the board was formed one of the areas I think we all agreed with Um was that there was a gap in support for Young and smaller businesses to improve their financial skills So we've managed to develop a program over the last couple years that helped us help bridge that gap So, you know the action that we've got written here, you know as number six is Is Yeah, it's based on the understanding that we our businesses need to have strong financial skills Obviously all of that has come under much more pressure since the Covid The Covid issue, you know, and there's a lot of businesses having to take on more debt and You know we're struggling to keep going as we're all away So it's it's ensuring those businesses that are not experts perhaps in that area I've got the support they need to be able to to to finance Keeping their businesses going as cheaply as they can Um So there's a program that started a number of years ago But that that program has now had to adapt to to help businesses through this crisis And that is the the investor ready and for national resilience program That is run by big innovation A lot of you will know Linda Grant who's a project lead of that Um, and that's a fantastic resource They've got some great consultants working for them that that will help businesses If they've got problems, you know, they they concentrate on areas like improving account In and information systems And facilitating funding financial modeling, you know and helping you consider different sources of capital So, you know, there's a great resource there that the company should tap into if they need it, you know One of the things we've introduced is trying to Kind of get the message out there about the program and to help upskill smaller businesses We've run a series of seminars that Andy mentioned right at the beginning And the third one at which was this morning and we've covered Areas focusing on trade credit We've done on one on mitigating risk and forecasting And the third one this morning was on the maintaining kind of cash and liquidity and We've got a good attendance to those and I think people have found them useful and for some very good speakers and You know, it's helping people to think about how they manage that part of their business. So, uh There's a great Stronger support there, you know, and again, I would recommend everybody to To tap into that to you know, if they feel like it will help their business And so I'm going to pass over to David Lloyd now who is going to talk about accreditation Thank you Hugh. Um Yep, it's just going to spend a few minutes talking about the importance of accreditation and the various types of accreditation that you can get At the beginning of this covid crisis We did a little bit of work which showed that about 28 cent of food companies and I mean by that food businesses Were furloughed because the focus of the marketplace was hospitality and I'm aware that There are many people on online here today who are in the hospitality sector Um, and the one thing that will undoubtedly come out of this is that we need to Diversify or at least spread the risk by going into different markets One of the critical elements To open up those markets is accreditation Started about 20 years ago in the retailers part of the due diligence defence was to look at um accrediting companies and there are Two key third party accreditations Which exist in in the uk and wales and their salsa and their brc is By our reckoning somewhere between 900 and 1000 registered food processes processes in wales Um, but when I give you the figures maybe 89 of those are registered against salsa and about 120 in one of the forms of the brc um accreditation So we've got a long way to go in terms of getting numbers up and by Getting that accreditation we significantly open up the marketplace to a lot of wales food companies and and undoubtedly one way out of this is to Is to gain these accreditations Um, the the salsa is for local supply and I think you can supply wales generally on that But you also be able to supply some of the you know, non larger retailers if you have salsa in the uk Um, that's generally about a half a day um, it's It it's Relatively low cost. I say relatively low cost is around 600 pounds But the opportunity that it opens up in new markets is um is significant There is and that's the first step in stone um On the stages to um accreditation and open it up markets and don't be scared of it because the support mechanism in wales is Is second to none Um, there's a new brc audit called brc start, which is about a one day audit It's more expensive. I think it's probably in the region of about a thousand pounds But don't quote me and it depends on which certification body you use But it's a midway point between salsa and brc Gs, which is the global standard, which is recognized globally um The brc gs is a much larger standard much larger Audit, it's anything sort of two two and a half days And beyond depending on your product and the the the size of your site And that's in the region of anything between 1500 and two and a half thousand pounds and the costs of the of the audited but It is global so it opens up export markets. Um and is Really the pinnacle of accreditations Let me just say at this point that um helix program has been pointed out Which is particularly applicable to startups micro and sms um, it's Subsidized so it's um good value And it's administered pan wales by the three food centers based in Food center wales and keratikion in food technology center in flankevny and anglesey and the food industry center of cardiff match pop University I would urge you like you did to visit the food innovation wales website um and just get in contact because The technologists that are based around wales are all salsa approved auditors and all have gone through Um The third party audit training with the brc. So it is in my opinion a fairly unique offering in wales Um, I do urge small companies that have not yet thought about it to think about it and get involved and if there are um hospitality companies out there who are looking to diversify because they have products within their menus Which they think will sell Please contact us And now i'm going to hand over for the next section back to allison lee wilson who's going to talk about the retail plan Right, I'll try and keep this very brief. Um, thank you david So the retail plan was um was written and was ready to roll and guess when it was completed february 2020 So it's actually being now completely rewritten to encompass the growth areas Such as the ones that andy was referring to online trading and also the rise of convenience stores Um, so the food and drink trade program maintains an excellent relationship with all the major retails and it does help facilitate events Where where producers can pitch to them such as the morrisons virtual food makers But just to echo david again salsa and brc are absolutely crucial to participating in that kind of occasion They're going to move on um to the the next point Which is maintaining our global trade presence and wales brand through virtual Engagement with overseas trade buyers Um, how on morn has been very uh lucky we have participated in a lot of virtual trade missions I have to pay tribute to one of the contractors now who's worked with the food and drink industry board Um, they could have just sat on their hands when covid happened, but they didn't they looked at new ways of delivering programs and instead of physical trade missions, they made them virtual And I have personally been virtually to singapore and australia and also on offer other nordics netherlands and belgian catar and japan And they can all be accessed through membership of the export club And everybody is welcome to that and i'm sure mark will put the link up to that It's a great Cost effective way of getting market information and targeted meetings with buyers who really want to buy And the beauty of it is that you send samples out in advance You have your meeting with the buyer by zoom and you talk them through the samples and you can both taste them together There are also other virtual events taking place like three e wine men Again with samples being delivered, but this time to consumers in advance and there is another Um trade show in octobo Called in in o beat if that's how you pronounce it, which is a completely new way of accessing buyers as all Uh meetings will take place online But we don't we really don't know how long one's going to pan out But it's a land a learning experience and it's probably worth doing because it's heavily subsidized And if nothing else we'll learn how to do things in the future And just two more little things. I I wanted just to note here that the y valley producer group marketing initiative where where a band of producers got together To sell direct to consumers and the negus box scheme on angle c which was putting Food together for vulnerable and shielded people Have both been picked up by the canadian academic as case studies of how to innovate best in a pandemic I'm looking ahead to possibly a physical Show the food division and fine food clusters taking a stand at the farm shop in deli and the food and drink expo In april 2021 in the nc and the stand will overlap both halls and create the welsh village So thank you very much for listening and handing over now to katie palmer to talk about public procurement Thank you arson Hello everybody. Yeah, i'm katie palmer i'm program manager at food sense wales And um, we're nearly at the end point 10. We've got one more to go after this um, uh, i'm going to talk about um Focusing really on investment on businesses that have strong economical and sustainable business models And really have a look at how the food and drink sector contributes to the wider conversation that welsh government having At the moment regarding our future wales And the post covet reconstruction consultation, which is a bit of a mouthful So the purpose of this point really is to ensure that investment in the food and drink sector drives resilience by contributing to walsh government's commitment to social Economic and environmental justice as laid out by the well-being of future generations act This point recognizes that the food and drink sector is part of the foundational economy So food is an essential good for everyday life And as such walsh government wants to invest in those businesses that seek to promote Social justice, so that's thinking about things like jobs livelihoods access to nutritious food um environmental protection uh thinking about climate um and protecting nature And public health so supporting safe and healthy diets for everyone And doing this while contributing to growing the green economy And i just want to point out that each of these factors that apply at home in wales But are also really important in ensuring our global responsibility And i've noted a question in the chat box um around deforestation that perhaps we can pick up later So walsh government already has a framework for achieving this investment goal through the economic contract And the economic contract is part of walsh government's government's prosperity for all The economic action plan And this has been designed to enable walsh government to develop strong business relationships to drive inclusive growth and responsible business behaviors So companies seeking support enter into an ongoing dialogue with walsh government And it's about committing to this sort of something for something approach So the economic contract requires businesses seeking investment to demonstrate their growth potential That they're going to provide fair work as defined by the fair work commission They're going to promote health um and they're going to make progress in reducing the carbon footprint And i have to say these these principles are put forward um pre-covid So just to finish off by giving you some examples of the sorts of Businesses that might the walsh government might be looking to invest in as part of a green recovery So looking at businesses that are supporting fair wages and good working conditions including training opportunities Businesses that are investing in low carbon technology Innovation in products and services that contribute to a healthy diet and low environmental impact Innovation in supporting low income communities to access affordable nutritious food Businesses that can support local food infrastructure, and this is where public procurement can come into the frame Demonstration of waste reduction high animal welfare standards And there are many more and um as allison explained earlier One of the mechanisms in achieving this would be buy-in through the sustainable brand values program So the ultimate aim is to ensure that investment in the food and drink sector is channeled into business support Which ensures the health of the nation Safeguards the environment and promotes social justice while driving the green economy I am now going to pass over to the final point to justine Thanks very much Katie. Okay. So skills has formed a really important aspect of the board's work And it will remain so going forward This is described in the 11th and final objective as a good place to work train and develop skills So why is that important? Well because ultimately it's our people who make this industry great From the innovators creating new products to the engineers keeping factories running And particularly not forgetting those owners and managers whose skills and resilience Have seen them navigating their businesses through the evolving challenges of COVID-19 Keeping their people safe whilst continuing to produce food to feed the nation And I think if the pandemic has brought home two things I think that firstly they are that we have to look out for each other Not just in our households and communities, but in our workplaces too Looking out for one another's physical and mental health And secondly that we see and we've seen some really good examples of that Secondly, I think it is shown just how vital the food and drink industry is to the whole nation Sustaining and feeding the population throughout the pandemic We could not have responded as we have without the skill adaptable and committed people we have Food and drink hasn't always been seen as a good place to work In fact, it's often overlooked as a career destination of choice Which makes it hard to attract people into our industry And yet we know that in Wales the food industry offers great jobs Many supporting local communities and that those who come into our industry are often surprised To find out just how rewarding careers in our sector can be So a good place to work, train and develop skills is about how we ensure that we look after our people We build the industry reputation as providing great employment And how we ensure that we develop a culture of investing in skills for the long term There is in Wales significant help available to both individuals and all types of businesses through the Business Wales Skills Gateway But beyond that you've heard a lot about the huge range of support that's available Which is food and drink specific such as the tuck-in which Alison mentioned earlier on Also unique to Wales are the apprenticeship systems And in Wales we have great apprentices with the opportunity to develop existing and recruit and train new staff For roles in butchery, bakery, brewing, food engineering and food operations just to name a few There are some major reforms being taking place to apprenticeships currently And apprenticeships are designed by the industry for the industry So for those who are interested in getting involved and understanding more and finding out more about the consultation Please do visit the website for the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink Which Mark's going to put up in a sec and do go in and respond to the consultation to make sure that your voice is heard In addition to this I'm picking up on one of the questions I think in the in the chat around about the availability of labour And how can we encourage more people into the industry? There's work being done to develop a food and drink specific employment support programme That will provide relevant industry training to help those who are either unemployed or might be made unemployed due to the pandemic And they can gain new and very specific skills in the food sector to enable them to retrain and enter the industry Our aim is to ensure that as we move forward businesses and Wales have access to the skills they need to drive recovery, productivity and growth We have a great story to tell, provide great jobs and have access to some amazingly strong packages of support I'm a passionate believer in the importance and value of skills And developing people and I'm really excited to be supporting this agenda as part of working with colleagues on the board That concludes our overview of the 11 priorities and I'm now going to hand back over to Andy to summarise Lovely thanks Justine well now you've all met the board and more importantly you've actually been introduced to our houses So I hope you've found that helpful. Thank you very much for the board members in going through their sections Thank you to our guests for for bearing with us It's really not easy to get these points across virtually But what we wanted to do was to actually try to take the time to explain what we're trying to do This is the beginning of a conversation. We don't pretend it's all going to be finished now What I like to do is in the last 10 minutes and we will finish dot on half past five is Just to pick up a few themes from what people have been saying I apologize that we don't get to all of your questions We will answer those that we haven't answered during the call later on I'd just like to pick up what Nick and Simon have been saying about hospitality You know we're all aware that hospitality has been affected Devastated by the coronavirus challenge. So what I'd just like to ask perhaps Dave Morris whether you'd like to comment on Simon and Nick's questions very quickly please Thank you Andy and yet to reiterate your point We are all and that includes all of our ministers from the first minister down Are acutely aware of the difficulties the hospitality sector has faced in covid When we look at the whole of the food chain It has been hit but much harder than any other part of that chain And and we know the fact that the sector had to close down. It was not easy We know that the way of reopening and luckily it is now reopened, but at the same time It's not easy because of the social distancing requirements And the other restrictions that are placed on you in terms of numbers So it's a slow return and we also know that There are going to be some hospitality businesses that probably won't reopen And indeed there will be some food manufacturing businesses that won't reopen But we have to in terms of sustaining your customer base Some of the current initiatives are helpful. So the august discount and eating out I think that's been a real success already, although we're only less than a week into indoor reopening in wales And I know I ate out myself last night in cardiff. I had to book a restaurant in advance There was no chance you could just turn up and expect that there would be capacity Now I know because of social distancing there are fewer people in the restaurants But but but that is good and and what's really good about that is it's giving people confidence to eat out again And once they've done it once or twice and they have the confidence they will return We also We know that Staycation is is a feature is the main feature of the if we like to call it that the holiday season this year So people generally are not going abroad for obvious reasons and that means the holiday and at home And I know myself I live in a rural area and and all of the the holiday cottages are fully booked All of the air bnb all of the campsites and all of those people need to eat when they're on holiday They won't all eat in restaurants, but given incentives and encouragement And proper promotion of welch food, which is something we're doing They will they they will certainly sample some of the local produce in local hotels and restaurants So there's there's some room for optimism and that's encouraging And the marketing and promotion is really important. We talked about carry come we carry blast We also hcc had a campaign to promote welch beef back in the middle of the crisis and the sales increased hugely on the back of that So getting promotion and marketing at every level correct is important And and we also our welch government food tourism action plan is due for revision this year And you know, we need to consider the challenges to to hospitality Due to covet 19 and how we can we can affect that much better in the future And I should also add of course that the hospitality sector itself is the responsibility the lead minister is minister skates and deputy minister and david Ellis thomas Having said that it the join-up is very very important and and all of the cabinet is alive to the problems in the sector Okay, thanks david and can I just say to nick and simon or anybody else raising questions about hospitality? I really want to engage with you after this meeting. So could you somehow get your contact details to me and maybe we can Arrange a conversation. Um, we're very aware of hospitality issues, but we need to make sure we really really understand them. So thank you Um, there was a question here about market intelligence from kevin harrington Which I'd like to ask in a minute. Um, david Lloyd for his perspective on that But before I come to david, um, I just wanted to pick up on what paul finnegan had raised And paul i'm trying to find the question now skirting down the page paul was saying How can we work with other parts of the uk who are promoting food and drink on pre competitive Errors and learnings. Well, great question paul and certainly there's not enough collaboration that goes on at the moment Um, partly an answer is that we've been very aware of that. Um through initiative such as food and drink federation round table The devolved food and drink boards Brackets england scotland wales because there isn't an england one Have been having discussions about how we can work together Um, and there are sort of official and unofficial Round tables for the devolved. So we learned from each other We've also had a lot of success recently where we've got government departments together most recently di t dafra And the devolved food and drink boards to discuss the export Initiative and the borders issue. So, um, it's a challenging area paul But I think collaboration is definitely getting better and it's certainly good between the devolved Thank you for that. Okay. Um, can we just go to david loy for your perspective, please on the Harrington question on market intelligence I'm trying to find it. Is it towards the base? Uh, yeah, so it's at the so the question that Um, kevin had was about how can we share the market intelligence? I think I'll try and find myself. Here we go What is the Welsh government and the food and drink board? I think it's more related to is to make sure that market intelligence is available to business So I think the question is about how do we provide information? Um, it's not my area, but I'll give it a go. Um, I um, there are a variety of avenues already in place for that Um, uh, there are market intelligence for export. So there are short sharp, um, export support mechanisms where you can look at a Well, you can take your product range and look at um potential export areas to see whether that would fit in a in a particular area of the world But there's also significant quantities of data. I think it was perhaps Alice and who touched on it earlier on or maybe Norma Things like Kantar data, which the Welsh government purchase and which is available to food companies There is a support mechanism and I come from industry and I wish I'd had this when I was in industry There's a support mechanism, um ranging from technical to market intelligence And skills but within the market intelligence There are two or three bodies who will work with companies to Um, look at market trends, but also to look at their product ranges and best fit. So I'm thinking of the likes of Uh, mentor a business in particular um Brookdale, um, they're Really, I think the the the best bet is to get in contact with someone from the food division within within Andrew Martin's team Who will guide you to? um The relevant relevant support body Um, and if you are a food producer, um I would urge as Allison's urge to join the cluster groups because there's another routine to the food division and they and the Market intelligence there, but also as Allison said learning from Other food companies who are at um at more advanced stage of development perhaps then then other people Thanks, Dave. I'm conscious that there are other from the board who want to the comment But they do want to move on because we've got literally two minutes left. So apologies for that I just want to pick up a question from julia hunt on about nature and the environment um To paraphrase the question. I think what duly was saying is there enough in in in a strategy about nature and natural capital Well, we've tried to make sure it's there Certainly from our point of view is point four was about sustainable practices And the point that katie was talking there about sustainable business models So if we haven't made that strong enough then apologies Julia, but I think we all on the board and Welsh government really passionate about natural capital and recognize it's a big part of it So again, if you want to take that conversation offline more than happy to okay, so I'm conscious We said we would finish at half past five and we we will it's half past five um What we but we weren't going to ever be able to answer all your questions today But what we will do is firstly we will make this a recording available I think somebody was asking that question So we will make the whole recording available so you can reflect on it We will get back to you on your individual questions If anybody wants to get in touch with us about what you've heard, please please do We really want to make the point is that we do not pretend that this strategy this bit of paper Is going to solve everything just by producing a bit of paper. Yeah What we need to do is bring it live and we need your help to do that So that's the conversations that we want to have with you From a board point of view and a Welsh government point of view. So All I will do now is literally thank you very much for our guests for joining us to everybody Thank you for the board. Thank you for the Welsh government for organizing it And um, we look forward to our next webinar. So thank you very much your time everybody. Bye. Bye