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The government’s announcement that tea, jam and biscuits will be at the centre of the UK’s Brexit trade strategy has been ridiculed by critics as “embarrassing.”

The digital backlash came after Environment Minister Andrea Leadsom unveiled plans to export food and drink to foreign countries in a bid to galvanise the economy post-Brexit.

Speaking at a trade fair in Paris, Ms Leadsom said the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has launched an ‘International Action Plan for Food and Drink’.

She hopes it will bring £2.9bn to the British economy over five years by tapping into nine markets across 18 countries.

It includes an extra £185 million in exports of British products such as tea, jam and biscuits to Japan and an additional £293 million worth of exports to Australia and New Zealand to meet a growing demand for British beer and cider.

Latin America's increasing interest in a wide range of British products, such as whisky and gin, could mean a potential £215 million export boost to the area, according to the plan.

But the idea has been ridiculed on Twitter with users describing it as “crazed” and “out of touch about British identity”.

One user, tweeting under the handle Citizen of nowhere in reference to the PM's controversial remark last week, posted: “Britain’s Brexit plan is to sell PG Tips to India, penguins to Antarctica and Bonne Maman to France. Good job.”

Another wrote: “So Britain’s Brexit plan is to sell jam and tea, to think I had no faith in the government, it's obviously being run by scholars and academics.”

Others pointed out that tea is not actually grown in this country. Ross Purves said: "Britain's Brexit plan is to sell tea to other countries. You know that we don't grow tea here right?"

Ms Leadsom said at Monday's trade fair: “Our food and drink is renowned for having the very best standards of animal welfare, quality and safety and I want even more of the world to enjoy what we have to offer.

“Scottish salmon, Welsh beef, Northern Irish whiskey and English cheese are already well-known globally and I want us to build on this success by helping even more companies send their top quality food and drink abroad.”

Theresa May announced at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham earlier this month that she would invoke Article 50 by the end of March 2017 at the latest.

This means the UK will be outside the EU by 2019.