17 Jul 2019

Food and drink export value reaches record high

Quarter one (Q1) of 2019 saw food and drink exports increase by 10.7% to £5.8 billion, twice the growth seen in the same period of 2018.

The report published by The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) stated that this was the biggest first-quarter sales value on record.

In addition to this, food and drink export growth to non-EU markets (+12.2%) outpaced growth to EU markets (+9.9%).

Growth of more than 20% was recorded in six of the UK's top 20 food and drink export markets, with Japan recording the highest growth rate at 52.5%.

Exports of all the top 10 products increased by value in Q1 of 2019, the strongest being salmon with growth of 40.9%.

Over the past 10 years, UK branded goods exports have increased by 110%, and in this year’s first-quarter exports to the Netherlands (+13.5%) grew the quickest out of the top five markets for branded goods.

FDF said its industry ambition was to grow exports of branded food and non-alcoholic drinks by a third, from a 2014 baseline, to reach £6 billion by 2020.

Ian Wright CBE, Chief Executive, Food and Drink Federation, said, “The food and drink industry continues to out-perform expectations, delivering another quarter of exceptional exports growth despite the damaging uncertainty with which businesses have to contend.

“The rapid growth to Saudi Arabia, a key target market in FDF's Food and Drink Sector Deal proposals, is just one example of this strength. With the right support in place our industry could deliver so much more.

“We urge Government to co-invest in our Sector Deal proposals and help us to provide the support our industry urgently needs to further enhance this growth.”

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