Brits were able to name the UK's three biggest exports – salmon, beef, and cheese. © Designgeist
The number of food and drink manufacturers in the UK grew by 6% in 2014 with exports totalling almost £13bn, according to new analysis of government data from Santander Corporate & Commercial.
The industry is the country’s single largest manufacturing sector with a turnover of £95.4bn and more than 8,000 companies in all. But despite this, a third of Brits believe that the industry is struggling and nearly a fifth think that British food is unpopular around the world.
In reality, the value of UK exports of food and non-alcoholic drink is £12.8bn a year, with 75% of that being accounted for by the European Union.
The survey also revealed that UK consumers were unaware of the country’s three largest export markets: respondents said that they thought the UK exported the most food and drink to the US, followed by Ireland and Spain. In reality, the top three markets in order are Ireland, France and the Netherlands, with the US only in fifth position.
The analysis is based on official figures from the ONS and shows that salmon, cheese and beef are among the UK’s biggest exports – although this didn’t take into account chocolate, which is worth more than £250m to the UK economy.
Banking group Santander claimed that this showed “a clear perception-versus-reality gap on everything from exported UK food and drink products, their popularity and countries we export to”.
Mark Collings, head of international for Santander SME Banking, said: “The UK food and drink manufacturing sector has become a major UK success story on an international scale. British people are proud of their local produce and certainly miss their favourite tea, chocolate, meat and cheese when travelling abroad, yet many do not realise quite how popular these items have become beyond our shores. Over the years the ‘Made in Britain’ brand has become synonymous with good quality products and services.
“At Santander we want to help food and drink businesses really capitalise on this global success and have developed strong expertise to help firms grow and export – in particular we want to help them recognise the international potential of their products and look at exporting opportunities.”
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