The government has promised that UK exporters will not suffer as a result of the closure of Food from Britain (FfB) after 25 years of international business.

The organisation has helped businesses to build international markets for uniquely British products all over the globe, from Scandinavia and North America to Japan.

The FfB has launched a page on the Food and Drink Federation’s website which provides a series of links to organisations that will continue to provide support to exporters after FfB’s closure.

These include UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), International Business Wales, Scotland Food & Drink, Invest Northern Ireland and the FfB International Network. The page will also link to UKTI’s events page and to FfB’s research publications, which will be hosted on the UKTI website.

At the FfB’s nine international offices, business will continue as usual after the closure of FfB London, on a commercial basis. To mark this change, the offices will be renamed the Green Seed Group, who will “incubate and grow international business”.

The newly renamed group will, for the first time, start to develop business not only with the UK and the rest of the world but also between international markets.

FfB’s had re-assured exporters that the closure does not spell the end of the British Pavilion at international trade shows, with four bodies, including the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, now set to manage the British pavilion at key shows.

FfB’s chief executive, John Adams, advised exporters to take advantage of the support that will still be available. He said: “We are incredibly proud of our achievements in helping UK producers shift their island mentality and realise their business potential overseas. For the past three years, UK food and drink exports have broken records and, provided companies utilise the support now in place, there is no reason that this growth can’t continue.

“During the transition period, we have taken every care possible to ensure that FfB’s closure does not have too much of an impact on exporters. I am glad that UKTI, together with its partners in the regions and the devolved administrations, has signalled so clearly the support that it intends to provide. We hope that the market we have worked so hard to build up continues for many years to come.”

Last month, UKTI announced that the fresh produce sector has seen a 14.4 per cent rise in exports in the first three-quarters of the financial year, with the food and drink industry as a whole generating almost £10 billion in exports.

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