Toast to whisky as UK exports rise above £11 billion

Published on Sunday 15 June 2008 22:09

WHISKY is leading an export boom of British food and drink, with south-east Asia one of the fastest-growing markets.

Whisky exports to Singapore leapt by 84 per cent, and by 62 per cent to Germany last year, to help set a new record of 2.8 billion on overall sales abroad, according to the Food from Britain (FFB) group, commissioned by the government to promote UK produce.

Both Singapore and Germany act as distribution hubs, with the former supplying emerging markets in south-east Asia, and the latter central and eastern Europe.

Overall, food and drink exports from the UK grew 9.1 per cent from 2006 to exceed 11 billion for the first time, despite the "challenging" global economy , FFB said. Growth was showing "no signs of waning" despite predictions of increasingly difficult market conditions.

Cheese exports have grown by 85 per cent since 2000, helped by a 4.4 per cent increase last year.

France took 21 per cent more British cheese than in 2006, while exports to Holland increased by 20 per cent. Cheddar and regional cheeses like Cheshire, Wensleydale and Lancashire were proving particularly popular, especially in the US, FFB said. Its head of research and consultancy, Chris Brockman, said US consumers were responding to traditional British methods of food production and valued the variation in tastes between cheeses.

Poland was emerging as another major market for Britain, as wages increased and more of the population turned to premium imported foods. The growth was also possibly driven by Poles moving back to their homeland from the UK with a taste for British food, FFB said.

Gibraltar, Cyprus and Malta consumed the most UK products per capita last year, thought to be driven by expats and tourists seeking a taste of home.

Exports were up 14 per cent to Russia, 20 per cent to Dubai and 32 per cent to India, where increasingly affluent populations were buying premium food.

Within the EU, new member states were showing the fastest growth. Slovakia increased imports by 112.5 per cent to 8.5 million and Estonia took 44.9 per cent more products to a value of 46.5 million.

Meat was the fastest-growing export sector, up 13 per cent from 2006 despite foot and mouth.

Mr Brockman said: "The latest figures have more than surpassed our ambitious growth predictions."