Oct 20 - Exports of food and non-alcoholic drinks bucked the recessionary trend and were up 10.2% to £4.82bn in the first six months of the year, according to new research commissioned by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF). Exports of all UK goods were down 13.4% over the same period.
If this strong performance is maintained through the second half of 2009, food and non-alcoholic drinks exports could pass through the £10bn barrier for the first time. The sector is already on track for its fourth consecutive year of record export growth.
Star performers in the first half of this year included ice cream (up 55% to £43.4m); soups (up 37.5% to £17.1m); sauces and condiments (up 28.1% to £96.4m); soft drinks (up 22.2% to £151.1m); coffee (up 19.7% to £33m); crisps (up 13.7% to £27.3m); breakfast cereals (up 12.5% to £207.3m); and sweet biscuits (up 12.4% to £95.2m).
Europe remains the standout region for exports, with its share of UK food and non-alcoholic drinks exports now at 80.8%, fuelled by strong growth in sales to The Netherlands, France, Italy and Spain.
Melanie Leech, Director General, Food and Drink Federation, says: "These figures are testimony to the efforts of UK food and drink exporters to keep building their overseas sales in what are very challenging international trading conditions. Food and drink is one of the few sectors to have bucked the trend of falling exports - and that's due, in part, to our strong reputation for supplying high quality, innovative products. Our new report on exports is an important reminder for the Government of the strong economic contribution made by the UK's biggest manufacturing sector.
"However, more could be done to help smaller companies maximise their potential in overseas markets, with issues such as a lack of insurance and longer credit terms creating real headaches for exporters. One way that the Government could help is by extending its trade credit insurance scheme beyond the end of this year as a way of helping food companies access bank financing, which - because of the lack of insurance, has been reducing in recent months.
We are also keen that the Government considers backing an international trade credit insurance scheme to ensure UK exporters can compete on a level playing field, given many of their competitors are benefitting from state-provided insurance cover."
Alara Wholefoods
Alara Wholefoods exports its Into the Garden range, OT Porridge range, Of the Earth range, Traditional Mueslis and Gluten Free mueslis. The company exports to Finland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Canada, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Korea, Russia, Australia, Japan, Eire, China, Slovakia and Taiwan. At the ANUGA trade show in Cologne last week Alara launched a new range called GeoMuesli in partnership with Traidcraft. This is the first fair trade range of mueslis in the world.
Bart's Spices
Bart's Spices exports a range of products including herbs, spices and cooking ingredients. The company's main export markets are Spain, US, Canada, South Africa and Barbados. Bart's has worked with UK Trade & Investment in the past which helped the company to develop its exports to the US.
Burts Chips
Over the last two years Burts Chips has seen a huge jump in sales and a major driver behind this has been its focus on exports. One third of Burts' turnover comes from exports and it sells its products in 17 countries, including India and Russia.
Devro
Devro, a Scotland-based provider of collagen products, which are transformed into edible casings for sausages and other related products, exports 30% of its manufactured products. Its key markets include Europe, the USA and Asia. Despite challenging market conditions, Devro have realised higher sales volumes than this time last year, especially in export markets. The company expects global demand for casings to continue to grow driven by economic expansion and increasing meat consumption, especially in emerging markets.
Jackson's Bakery
Jackson's Bakery - a producer of specialist sandwich bread for industrial sandwich makers and retail bread for tourist and ex pat markets - has a real hands-on approach to export sales, currently enjoying trade in 25 countries. The company has achieved over 400% growth in the last 6 years - export is a significant part of the business and represents almost 12% of its total sales turnover. Jackson's Bakery's export markets currently include France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Cyprus, Greece, Spain including the Balearics and Canaries, Luxembourg, Portugal, the USA, Lithuania, Ireland, Poland, Italy, Czech Republic and Hong Kong.