The first half of 2017 saw exports of UK food and drink grow to £10.2 billion, up by 8.5% compared with the same period last year.
Released today by The Food and Drink Federation (FDF), the figures represent the highest first half exports value on record. The UK’s top three export products are whisky, salmon and beer. Contrary to recent export trends, stronger growth was reported to EU countries (+9.0%) than to countries outside the EU (+7.6%).
Ireland, France and the United States are the top three destinations for UK food and drink in terms of overall value. Positive growth was reported in all top 20 markets, apart from Spain and Japan.
The three export markets that saw the greatest percentage growth in value in the first half were South Korea (+77%), China (+35%), and Belgium (+39%). The rapid growth in exports to growing East Asian markets was led by South Korea, fast gaining a taste for British beer, and overall exports surged to £156.3 million.
The US is the UK’s top non-EU market for exports of branded food and drink, reaching £91.5 million in the first six months of 2017, up from £87.8 million last year. Top UK branded goods sold to the US included food preparations, bread, pastry, cakes, puddings and sweet biscuits.
The FDF said that while the fall in the price of the pound had helped to boost UK export competitiveness, this currency weakness has also led to an increase in the cost of many essential imported ingredients and raw materials.
Professional services network Grant Thornton was recently commissioned by the FDF to undertake an economic contribution report, which identified China, India and the UAE as the top three target markets that food and drink companies would like to target.
These countries were prioritised by the companies surveyed based on their scale which affords a sizeable middle class target customer base with strong and growing demand for quality Western products.
Food minister George Eustice MP said: “These encouraging figures show that the UK’s high quality foods and high standards are sought after around the world.
“We have ambitious plans to produce and export more of our fabulous foods around the world and more businesses are trying exporting for the first time.
“Last week we announced further market access to China for pork producers and UK beef will soon be heading to the Philippines. We will continue to work with industry to open new opportunities.”
Elsa Fairbanks, director of the Food and Drink Exporters Association, added: “It is pleasing to see exports perform so strongly in the first half of the year, with UK food and drink exporters seeing the largest figures in record.
“Our core markets in the EU and North America are showing healthy growth and is something we should protect and build on in the months ahead. Asian markets have also seen impressive growth and this is clearly a region we should turn our attention to further as exporters in the future.”
The first quarter of the year also broke records for UK food and beverage exports, bolstered by value growth in shipments of salmon.
The FDF’s ambition is to grow UK exports of branded food and non-alcoholic drink by a third, from a 2014 baseline, reaching £6 billion by 2020.
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