Agriculture, Food and Drink

Norfolk and Suffolk’s historical agricultural strengths see it blessed with national and international food and drink companies, as well as the manufacture of machinery to support them. This sector is an important employer in rural areas, though there are also significant agricultural production sites in urban areas. These major companies, alongside growing boutique high-value companies, see Norfolk and Suffolk specialism in: sugar, malt, the production and processing of poultry and pork, cider and fruit wines, beer, chocolate, soft drinks and potatoes, amongst others.

Norfolk and Suffolk is also home to a successful agri-tech sector. These companies often export, are medium sized and manufacture accessories to agricultural machinery, such as feeders, spreaders and pesticides.

Some of the most significant food and drink companies in Europe have a major presence in Norfolk and Suffolk, including Adnams, British Sugar, Greene King, Colman’s (Unilever) and Muntons.

Read about the investment opportunity in the agri-food sector across the East of England by clicking on the image below.

Our Sector Group

The Agri-tech Council supports this dynamic sector. The Council has five strategic objectives:

1. To attract, develop and retain the best talent for the sector at management technical and operational level
2. To develop and enhance the entire food, drink and agriculture supply chain
3. To improve the productive efficiency of the sector and to assist the commercial exploitation of Norwich Research Park.
4. Capture external resources to grow the food, drink and agriculture sector
5. Promote and raise the profile of food, drink and agriculture in Norfolk and Suffolk

The Agriculture, Food and Drink sector within Norfolk and Suffolk has a workforce of 79,900 and 8300 enterprises.

To read more about the Agri-tech Council, please click here.