UK Non-Alcoholic Drink and Branded Food Exports Skyrocket in H1
29 Aug 2016 --- The first half of 2016 has seen growth in the export of branded food and non-alcoholic drinks with Malaysia, China and the US absorbing high volumes.
The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has released the latest export figures for H1 which show non-alcoholic drink and branded food exports increased to £2.4 billion (US$3.1 billion), that is £141.2 million (US$185 million) up on the same period in 2015 and a 6.2 percent rise.
Branded exports outside of the European Union went up by £93.7 million (US$122 million) which is a 14 percent increase on H1 in 2015. Exports to the EU also increased by 2.9 percent, £47.5 million (US$62.2 million). Exports to non-EU nations now represent 31.4% of all branded exports, up 2.2pp on H1 of 2015.
Total exports of food and non-alcoholic drink grew by 8.7 percent, £528.3m (US$692 million) to £6.6billion (US$8.6 billion), between H1 of 2015 and H1 of 2016, following a fall in overall exports in 2015, the first in ten years.
A weak pound at the start of the year led to competitive exports in the first half of 2016 and the price of the pound fell further following June’s Brexit announcement. Expectations are that there will be further increased in exports throughout 2016.
The three export markets which saw the greatest value growth from H1 of 2015 to H1 of 2016 were Malaysia, up £46.9m (US$61.4 million) which is a 268.5 percent rise. Next was China with a 100.9 percent increase to £24.1 million (US$31.5 million) and the US was up 31.6 percent with £21.1million (US$27.6 million).
The top three countries for exports of branded UK food and non-alcoholic drinks were Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands, while the top three product categories were chocolate, salmon and wheat, with exports of vegetables (fresh and prepared) experience a value growth up £27.7 million (US$36.2 million) in H1 of 2016 compared against H1 2015.
Ian Wright, FDF director general, said: “Following a weaker performance in 2015, the growth of value added exports we've seen in H1 is excellent news for our industry and a positive step toward achieving FDF's export ambition. It's also very pleasing to see non-EU exports performing beyond expectations, with UK firms taking advantage of increased competitiveness.
“We eagerly await the launch of DEFRA's export plan to see how government intends on supporting our industry overseas in a time of prospective economic uncertainty.”
FDF has set an ambition to grow value-added food and drink exports by a third to achieve a total value of £6 billion by 2020. The 'Exports – Five Steps to Food and Drink Exporting Success' guide, developed by FDF and the Food and Drink Exporters Association (FDEA), was recently launched as part of an enhanced partnership aiming to help more of Britain's 6,500 manufacturers to export.
“FDEA is very encouraged by the improved export performance for the first half of 2016 which reflects the commitment that many food and drink companies are making to grow the international side of their business, said Elsa Fairbanks, director at Food and Drink Exporters Association (FDEA). “A significant number of our members are reporting that their export customers are now proving to be a vital part of a thriving business.”
