Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Our Welsh food and drink industry continues to go from strength to strength. Since I last addressed Plenary, in November 2016, the industry’s sales turnover has increased strongly from £6.1 billion to £6.9 billion. We stand on the threshold of the £7 billion target of 'Towards Sustainable Growth', the food and drink action plan set in 2014, to be reached by 2020. This is tremendous progress. It reflects the hard work and effort by businesses across Wales, large and small. It is a result for forward thinking strategy and for the determined action to see it through. It is an outcome founded on partnership, working directly with businesses, our expert food technology centres, and the food and drink Wales industry board.

Over the last 12 months there have been many successes. BlasCymru/TasteWales was Wales’s first international trade event. It put Wales on the map in our aspiration to be a food nation. Business generated is projected to reach over £22 million. BlasCymru/TasteWales will become our signature showcase event in bringing Wales to the world, and also the world to Wales, with the next event planned for March 2019.

Last November, we held a celebration of our Great Taste awards winners and our protected food name products. Yet again, the industry has done extremely well, with 165 Great Taste winners at the 2017 UK awards. Our tally of protected food name products has risen to 14, with six having gained this European status in 2017. Protected food names are an internationally-recognised badge of authenticity and originality. Collectively, these winners are building our reputation and brand, placing us on a global stage.

Our successes are built on focused direction and support, which is creating confidence and providing the means for businesses to do more. Our business support packages have invested in innovation, in marketing and in our people. Investment approved through the food business investment scheme now stands at nearly £30 million approved for 34 expanding businesses. Project Helix is encouraging a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship and, supported by an investment of £21 million, practical support is delivering new products and processes to meet market demand and maximise value.

Our business cluster programme revolves around six key clusters and special interest groups, involving 410 businesses actively engaged in important business areas of the food and drink action plan. As common interest groups, clusters are a powerful engine for driving growth, opening new opportunities, adding value and creating stronger supply chains. 

However, this is not just about the numbers. Food is about people—their health and well-being. At the grass roots, the Cabinet Secretary for Education has provided £0.5 million to support a school holiday anti-hunger initiative for primary schools. At the strategic level, work is starting on an obesity strategy for Wales.

Of course, Brexit remains a huge challenge. We must embrace change in mindset, processes and structures. Brexit is causing a worrying level of uncertainty about what the next few years will bring. The Welsh Government has voiced strong concerns about the UK Government’s stance. The wrong decisions and a poor Brexit deal will have long-lasting and far-reaching consequences. 

I am facing the challenge and responding by increasing the pace and intensity of the Welsh Government’s effort and support. I've allocated an additional £2.8 million investment for a fit-for-market sector readiness programme and essential preparation to deliver new initiatives and to expand the support initiatives already under way. This new investment will support and help to futureproof the food and drink action plan and support the skills needed by our people.

In the autumn I attended Invest in Skills, Invest in Growth, the first Welsh food and drinks skills conference. I listened to what the industry was telling me, and it’s loud and clear: it has significant skills gaps, which Brexit could make worse by the uncertainty faced by our valued EU migrant workers. My message is clear to them: we value your contribution and we want you to stay in Wales. I announced the need to develop an employability and skills plan for the industry, and the board will be inviting discussion on draft measures at a follow-up conference next month.

A strong international presence is central to raising our profile and realises our vision to position Wales as a food nation capable of supplying the UK and international markets. At Anuga, Cologne’s global food and drink trade fair, I announced an additional £1.5 million for our red meat agency partner Hybu Cig Cymru to deliver an enhanced export development programme, specifically for market access in new markets and defending the current position. Although exports grew to £436 million in 2016, our most important market is the UK, where we trade the greatest level of production. Brexit requires a significant realignment of food industry supply chains. We will build on import opportunities and seek to substitute Welsh food and drink products. We are working with retailers and food service businesses, the Wales Retail Consortium and the Food and Drink Wales industry board to make this happen.

The interest in our wonderful Welsh food and drink has never been greater. The quality, service and originality of the Welsh offer are recognised across the world. We know consumer interest in Welsh products is increasing across the UK, with people perceiving the inherent value of Welshness. We will build on these values to support brand Wales.

We stand at the halfway point of 'Towards Sustainable Growth', our increasingly successful action plan to 2020, and close to reaching our headline target. Wales's food and drink industry is a huge asset. It contributes increasingly to our economy and is now rightly recognised as a foundation sector with priority status in 'Prosperity for All', in the Welsh Government's new action plan for the economy. It generates wealth and strengthens the economy regionally and nationally. It creates jobs and careers where skills matter. It adds value to our agricultural produce and it brings prestige to our nation, with a growing profile and reputation throughout the world. 

Through continued focus on what works, and through an internal and external readiness for Brexit, we will be fully fit for market, with industry structures that are optimal for performance. I have every confidence we will continue to succeed, and, with leadership and good skills support, make the best of Brexit and deliver for Wales.