THE search has begun for the leading food and drink exporters in Worcestershire and Herefordshire with the launch of the annual Food from Britain (FFB) Export Awards.

Staged in association with The Grocer magazine, this year's competition includes a new award for dairy exporters, as well as the award for marketing innovation first introduced last year.

The FFB Export Awards, now in its seventh year, is one of the leading events in the food and drink industry calendar.

"With British food and drink export figures in 2002 valued at £8.9bn, showing the first increase in six years, FFB hopes for a record number of entries for the awards this year and some tough competition," said a spokesman.

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