Arla in Llandyrnog

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:32 pm on 12 June 2018.

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Photo of Mark Isherwood Mark Isherwood Conservative 1:32, 12 June 2018

Last week, responding to me, the Cabinet Secretary referred to the Farmers' Union of Wales statement that Arla was set to retain the site while potential opportunities for other products are explored, and that he would be taking that further with them. I've since been told by one source that 'other opportunities for the site' simply refers to recommencing production should tariffs be imposed on cheese imports post Brexit. But we also saw, over the weekend, reporting that Starbucks has struck a 21-year licensing deal with Arla to manufacture, distribute and market its range of premium ready-to drink milk-based coffees across Europe, the Middle East and Asia, which potentially opens wider opportunities. Perhaps you won't be able to tell us until you've spoken to the Cabinet Secretary, after his discussion, but will you inform the Assembly what discussions have been had, in that context, and whether this is simply restricted to tariffs post Brexit, or whether there are new opportunities linked to the publicised new contracts with third parties?