AIC Parliamentary Reception Puts Supply Chain Priorities in Focus
Agricultural Industries Confederation's (AIC) Members came together with parliamentarians at the House of Commons on 8 September, with a key focus on strengthening connections with their local Members of Parliament (MPs) and discussing the issues affecting agricultural supply businesses in constituencies across the UK.
The annual parliamentary reception was hosted by Daniel Zeichner MP, a former Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Minister of State and Shadow Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Minister. Drawing on his considerable experience of agricultural policy, he welcomed over 80 attendees from across the UK and EU agri-food supply chains. This included AIC Member businesses, farmer representatives, trade bodies, MPs, Peers, and officials from the European Commission and various embassies. He also thanked AIC for bringing industry and policymakers together and spoke about the AIC’s four priorities: EU Reset, Supply Chain Resilience, Inward Investment and Growth, and Sustainability.
Together, these priorities set out the action needed to strengthen the agricultural supply chain, support long-term food security and ensure the UK remains competitive, productive and equipped to respond to future challenges.
AIC Chair Jonathan Lane then addressed guests on behalf of the AIC, thanking Daniel Zeichner MP for hosting the reception and echoing his comments on the four priorities. Jonathan reinforced the importance of industry and policymakers working together to secure practical outcomes for the agricultural supply chain.
Guests also heard from Dr Neil Hudson MP, Shadow Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who addressed the challenges and opportunities facing the agricultural supply chain. He emphasised the importance of collaboration between industry and government to secure the future of UK-EU agricultural supply chains.
A central purpose of the reception was to enable AIC Members to connect directly with their local MPs. These conversations gave Members an opportunity to explain the contribution their businesses make within constituencies, highlight the pressures they face and demonstrate how national policy decisions influence local employment, investment and economic activity.
Discussions throughout the evening explored AIC's priorities in greater depth. These included securing the benefits of a UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement, building resilience in an increasingly volatile global environment, creating the conditions for investment and innovation, and delivering agricultural growth that supports both environmental and economic outcomes.
Reflecting on the reception, Robert Sheasby, AIC Chief Executive, said:
"A key purpose of this year's reception was to give AIC Members the opportunity to connect with their local MPs and explain the important contribution their businesses make within constituencies across the UK. Daniel Zeichner's contribution provided a strong opening to the evening and underlined the importance of AIC's priorities for the future of the agricultural supply chain. These relationships and conversations help parliamentarians understand how national policy decisions affect agricultural supply businesses, their employees and the customers they serve. Our thanks go to Daniel for hosting the reception and to Dr Neil Hudson for addressing our guests."
The reception reinforced the value of bringing Members and parliamentarians together, both to develop a shared understanding of the challenges facing the agricultural supply chain and to build the relationships needed to secure practical policy outcomes.
View a selection of photos taken at the reception on AIC's Flickr account.
