COMBATING malnutrition around the world is an ‘opportunity’ for the UK’s food and farming industries, the principal of Reaseheath College said.

Speaking at the college’s Food and Procurement College on Thursday, Meredydd David, Reaseheath College principal, called the UK’s agriculture and food industries ‘big business’.

He said the industries are the ‘foundation of our countryside’, and stated that there are more than 20,000 food and drink businesses in the north west alone “Agriculture and food is big business,” Mr David said.

“It is the UK's biggest manufacturing industry in the country, generating over £100 billion in 2013 and a similar figure in 2014.

“That’s more than motor vehicle and aerospace industries in our country combined, and employing over 3 million people, 12 per cent of the working population.

“It’s a highly innovative sector, bringing 16,000 new products to market each year, which is more than France and Germany combined.

“There are over 20,000 food and drink businesses in the North West alone, all depending on farmers for their primary products.”

Mr David said the UK public sector spends more than £1.2 billion on food and drink every year, though the industry faces a ‘global challenge’ to feed the world’s growing population.

He said: “The need to feed the growing world population, shortly to reach 8 billion people with around three per cent of that number currently suffering from some form of malnutrition, is recognised as a global challenge and is an opportunity for our industry and this country.

“Thankfully the UK government a couple of years ago recognised that challenge and recognised the importance of our industry and determined it as one of the eight great industries within the UK.

That global challenge will require a doubling of food production by 2050 and it reinforces how we work and live in a very volatile global market place.”

George Eustice MP, Minister of State for Food, Farming and the Marine Environment, had been scheduled to talk about the government’s 25-year food and farming strategy at the conference.

However due to commitments at the House of Commons, he had to pull out and sent a video message, where he said a large part of the plan would be looking at procurement.

Watch Mr Eustice’s video message below.