07 November 2007, 16:49 PM
  • UK food and drink exports, which reached a ten-year high in 2006 at £10.5bn, are on their way to another record as latest figures show the tally for 2007 could be £11bn.

The findings released by market development network, Food from Britain, show that during the first half of this year exports reached £5.2bn, up from £4.2bn for the same period in 2006. It shows that demand for British products is even greater now despite the setbacks caused by foot and mouth disease.

Chris Brockman, research and consultancy manager at Food from Britain, says, “Historically, Britain’s red meat exports have been very strong and contributed significantly to the overall figures. This meant that when BSE struck over a decade ago, and then foot and mouth disease came along at the beginning of the century, it spelt real problems for UK food and drink export performance. Since then, the country has strengthened all of its offering and is not as reliant on beef.

“While foot and mouth disease will have a significant detrimental effect on our animal-based exports in the second half of 2007, we still predict overall figures at year-end will reflect the strength and diversity of the market and will hit the £11bn milestone,” he continues.

Reversing a recent trend, UK food and drink exports are now growing faster than imports, reducing the overall food and drink trade gap.

“The UK export market has proved itself to be extremely robust and with all the logistics, opportunities and expertise in place, we are confident that this upward trend is set to continue,” Mr Brockman concludes.