Shoppers are being urged to keep their shopping local this Christmas to show support for rural and local businesses.

President of the Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW), Glyn Roberts, made the statement and added: “As we speed towards Christmas, I would like to urge you to think about your rural businesses.

“See if you can buy local, either for the upcoming Christmas dinner or even gifts for family and friends.

“Speak to your local butcher about meat for the Christmas period and see what your local farm shop has to offer – I promise you will find many of the ingredients you need for your Christmas dinner right on your doorstep.

There are also plenty of small shops around that offer Welsh craft and locally designed gifts and, of course, the choice for local food gifts is aplenty. It really is worth having a look.

“These are small decisions we can make that will have a big impact on our rural economy,” he added.

Spend locally

Roberts stressed the importance of people shopping locally to the surrounding businesses. “A pound spent locally will go much further than a pound spent in a chain store.”

The NFU president concluded: “It keeps our rural economies going. By supporting our local businesses, we don’t help a CEO buy a third holiday home, we help a local mum and dad put food on the table, a family pay their mortgage, a little girl get those dance lessons or a little boy get his favorite team shirt.”