CHEESE exporter Somerdale International, based at Chelston on the edge of Wellington, has been helping to fly the flag for British cheese and dairy products at the Food and Hotel Asia (FHA) exhibition in Singapore.

The six-day trade show, which started last Tuesday, was set to feature 4,000 international exhibitors and attract an estimated 78,000 visitors.

Somerdale, which exports British cheese to more than 50 countries, was showcasing a range of high quality cheese and dairy products including some made in the South-West such as West Country Farmhouse Cheddars from Somerset cheesemaker Barber’s and Rodda Cornish Clotted Cream.

The Somerdale stand also featured its own Westminster brand of cheddars, blended cheeses, sliced cheddars and water crackers, and biscuits produced by Rakusen’s, among others.

Somerdale already has an established presence in South-East Asia with a network of regional distributors in Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Indonesia, Hong Kong and the Philippines.

But it is aiming to quadruple sales to the region in the next three years.

Somerdale International director Stephen Jones, speaking before the exhibition, said: “There is a growing demand for high quality dairy products in South-East Asia and we are witnessing increasing interest in British cheese.

“This is not simply from the ex-pat community but increasingly from a growing middle class who have travelled more than ever before and have often been educated in Europe, the USA or Australia.

“We have a great story to tell in relation to the product quality, environmental standards and provenance of British cheese and dairy, and our presence at FHA

will help us we believe communicate this to the South-East Asian market.”