The UK’s exports of food and drink products to China have soared this year so far, according to a report from the Food and Drink Federation.
The sector exported £557.5m worth to the world’s largest economy, marking a growth of 25.2% year-on-year and an additional £63.4m in value. This reflects general growth for the sector in China, with the UK’s exports doubling over the period of 2013-2018 from £260m to £620m.
In general, the UK’s global food and drink exports are valued at £17.4bn for the first nine months of 2019, up 6.3% from this time last year. Non-EU growth in particular has climbed, going up by 1.7% to 39.4% of the total export value from the sector; the value of exports to Asia have risen 10.2% to £585.8m.
High Spirits
Spirits exports to China especially have been booming. They are now the third largest export category from the sector to China after meat & fish and seafood, rising 35.5% in the first half of 2019.
The sector as a whole has also posted growth exceeding 20% year on year for Japan, Taiwan and India. Japan continues to increase its imports of whisky and salmon from the UK, with an increase of 33.3% over the year to date.
Whisky exports globally have increased by 11.3%, hitting £3.7bn, while gin has increased by 13.7% to £515.2m.