Last year saw exports of branded soft drinks and food rise by 0.9 per cent to reach £4.63 billion, although overall exports saw a drop of £0.6 billion to settle at £12.3 billion for the year off the back of oil price drops and the strength of the pound against the Euro, resulting in less competitive UK exports in Eurozone markets.
Research from the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has found that the top three export products are chocolate, salmon and cheese, although vegetable exports (prepared and fresh) saw the biggest rise in overall growth for the year, climbing £18 million.
As for target markets, exports were up by nine per cent to China, while UK exports of breakfast cereal to the UAE rose by £8.9 million and crisp exports to France were up by £1.2 million.
Director of competitiveness at the FDF Angela Coleshill said: “Growing exports is a top priority for Britain\’s makers, bakers and bottlers, who have set an ambition to increase branded exports by a third by 2020. For our industry to meet this stretching target, we need to make sure small and medium-sized food companies in particular are helped to compete in the fiercely competitive global marketplace.”
This news comes after Barclays’ Business Abroad Index found that small to medium-sized enterprises registered a six per cent hike in total payments from Europe in 2015 compared with 2014. A rise in UK China exports was also seen.
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