UK food and non-alcoholic drink exports grew by 2.6% in 2014, almost doubling in value over the past ten years.
The food and non-alcoholic drink sector has continuously outperformed on exports, growing strongly even throughout the recession. Exports of UK dairy are at a record high, up 8.8% to £1.4bn.
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Farming, Food and Marine Environment, George Eustice will announced the news at the International Food Exhibition (IFE) held at ExCeL London.
The report from the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) shows that food and non-alcoholic drink exports continued growing to non-EU countries, up 9% on last year, with double digit growth in the United States and China.
The EU remains the UK’s biggest market for food and drink exports. The top three product categories last year were salmon, chocolate and cheese; cheese exports were up 5.6% and make up a third of the overall dairy exports.
Food and non-alcoholic drink exports have almost doubled in value over the last decade, from £6.5bn in 2004 to £12.8bn in 2014.
FDF’s Economic and Commercial Services Director Steve Barnes commented: “This performance shows that British food and drink is in demand across the globe – a testament to our quality brands and innovative products. Food and drink is bucking the trend when it comes to exports and this is great news for the UK economy. High demand from international markets for our food and drink must be at the heart of the country’s strategy for economic growth and we look forward to working with the Government to capitalise on this opportunity”.
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