Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:06 pm on 14 July 2021.
Plaid Cymru believes that all public procurement of food should prioritise the purchase of food produced in Wales. The provision of free school meals for primary children, with an emphasis on developing local supply chains, will support local farmers and growers, and local businesses. With a threat to the farming sector created by trade deals with countries like Australia, and the increased cost of imports, this is a golden opportunity for the public sector and farmers and growers to work together to produce high-quality, fresh and seasonal food and to help create a more sustainable food system in Wales based on shorter and more resilient supply chains. From dairy to red meat processing, we have an extractive economy, where Welsh products are taken over the border to England to be processed. Currently, any Wales food policy needs to recognise that many of its conventional supply chains are increasingly tied to UK processing and retailing hubs. Recent statistics suggest that Wales only has the capacity to process 49 per cent of its own milk, 28 per cent of Welsh beef, and 24 per cent of lamb and sheep. All of this represents lost value and lost income to the Welsh economy and the wider food industry, and this has to change.