Farmers and businesses involved in the food industry are being urged to move fast and get in their entries for the East Anglian Daily Times Business Awards 2015 before the April 22.

Its Food and Farming Excellence category, sponsored by Suffolk Agricultural Association, is specifically geared towards primary producers, processors, manufacturers and retailers, and celebrates the contribution food producers and the food supply chain make to the economy of East Anglia.

The winner will be a business able to demonstrate innovation and a strong all-round performance over the last 12 months, and judges will be looking at overall enterprise management.

Suffolk Agricultural Association (SAA) chief executive Nicola Bateman said they were “delighted” to support the awards, which champion excellence in the sector.

“As an association whose members produce food that appears on the shelves of major supermarkets and as ingredients for some of the leading food brands, our role is to raise awareness and promote the quality and integrity of Suffolk produce and its agricultural community,” she said.

“We are fortunate as a county to be able to ‘look local’ for our food and drink, which will be even more apparent at this year’s Suffolk Show on May 27 and 28.

As a charity, formed in 1831, with one of its major objectives being the promotion and advancement of agricultural and allied industries, the SAA acts as a catalyst in bringing together the many different elements of farming and rural life which make our county a driving force in the agricultural industry.

“Our membership is diverse from major farmers supplying beet to British Sugar, vegetables to the major supermarkets, blackcurrants to Ribena and apples to Mr Kipling for his pies, to rape seed oil producers, malt for Maltesers and high quality dairy products from smaller producers to some of the country’s leading delicatessens and specialist stores.”

The awards, now in their 18th year, aim to recognise the best in entrepreneurial endeavour and business practice across the EADT’s circulation area.

The black-tie gala presentation evening has become an important fixture in the region’s business calendar, with this year’s ceremony taking place at Trinity Park, Ipswich, on Thursday, July 9.

Former BBC Radio Suffolk presenter Terry Baxter, who is now chief executive of Inspire Suffolk and chairman of Ipswich Central, will again be hosting the ceremony.

For more information, go to www.eadt.co.uk/business and click on the business awards logo.