Despite supply disruption and issues linked to Brexit, new figures show exports to both EU and non-EU markets exceeded pre-Covid levels during the first half of 2022 after growing 24.5%.
The analysis by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) stated that growth was attributed to soaring levels of sales to Australia, France and India and increasing demand for British products such as chocolate.
The FDF’s Trade Snapshot shows exports have seen significant growth in non-EU markets set for UK trade deals, such as UAE (+30%), Canada (+23.4%), Australia (+16.6%) and India (+81%).
And despite much-published disruption at EU borders, exports to France (+33.1%) and Ireland (+26.2%) bounced back after weakness last year linked to the pandemic. However, total exports to the EU are still down 5.1% on where they were in 2019.
For the first time, India entered the top 20 markets following growth of 81% over the past year. This was driven by strong sales of whisky, gin and breakfast cereals.
With the Government currently negotiating a preferential trade agreement with India, the FDF said it hoped a deal could deliver positive outcomes to further grow valuable export opportunities for UK producers.
Chocolate was the UK’s largest exported food product in the first half of 2022, worth £368m, up 12% since 2021, with sales to many non-EU markets, including Saudi Arabia and Canada, growing quickly. Cheese was the second largest food export, up 41.8% to £359m, whilst Whisky remained the UK’s biggest drink export, up 35.3% to £2.7bn.
The FDF noted that it was helping businesses take advantage of new export opportunities around the world. However, it stated that growth opportunities in Europe should not be overlooked, and it remains a priority to improve the implementation of the UK-EU trade agreement.
The Food and Drink Federation’s Head of International Trade Dominic Goudie said: “It is promising to see exports to EU and non-EU markets top pre-pandemic levels given the exciting opportunities presented by new trade deals with Canada, Australia, India and the Gulf Cooperation Council. These are vital to driving future growth in the UK food and drink sector.
“Our industry continues to show resilience in the face of multiple challenges including the war in Ukraine and sharply rising costs. It is important the Government supports food and drink exporters to help us drive further growth in new markets that will support the UK’s economic recovery.”
