Top Export Markets

The ranking of the top 9 markets remains unchanged on 2011.

Sweden is the only EU country to move up the table, the other six climbers were Canada, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Australia, China and Japan.

The major fallers in terms of rankings were Poland, Norway, and Portugal. Russia has moved out of the top 20 after exports fell by 12.6%.

Growth in three of the top 4 markets has resulted in gains of £157m, but this has been offset by negative growth in France, Belgium, Spain and Italy and some of the mid-table markets. Portugal which was one of the top 10 markets in 2010 has fallen back to 19th in 2012.

Top 20 growth markets

The highest growth markets in the top 20 included:

  • Saudi Arabia: +35.2% to £118m including a 310% increase in eggs (adding over £11m), 213% increase in sugar confectionery and a 106% increase in soft drinks.
  • The United Arab Emirates: +24.9% to £153m with a 171% increase in fresh fish, 69% increase in cheddar cheese, 121% increase in soft drinks and a 69% increase in chocolate.
  • Sweden: +16.5% to £198m with a 1667% increase in prepared meat (adding £2.4m), 67% increase in fruit juice and a 37% increase in bread.
  • Australia: +12.6% to £114m including a 53% increase in sweet biscuits (adding £5m), 44% increase in chocolate, 51% increase in smoked fish and a 32% increase in Jam/preserves.
  • China: +11% to £110m (with exports exceeding £100m for the first time) including a 280% increase in pork (adding almost £8m) and a 45% increase in crustaceans. Strong value added growth was also seen in sugar confectionery (+80%), cakes (+53%) and sweet biscuits (+32.4%).

Top 20 export countries

UK Exports of Food & Non-alcoholic drinks:
Top 20 Countries - Jan-Dec 2011-2012 (£ million)
Rank Country 2011 2012

% change 2011-2012

1 (-) Ireland 2,932 2,983 1.7
2 (-) France 1,444 1,326 -8.2
3 (-) Netherlands 1,172 1,198 2.2
4 (-) Germany 1,037 1,117 7.7
5 (-) Belgium 569 555 -2.4
6 (-) Spain 558 517 -7.5
7 (-) United States 491 492 0.1
8 (-) Italy 431 372 -13.5
9 (-) Denmark 221 204 -7.5
10 (+2) Sweden 170 198 16.5
11 (-1) Poland 203 183 -9.8
12 (+1) Canada 149 156 4.3
13 (+3) United Arab Emirates 123 153 24.9
14 (-3) Norway 177 149 -16.0
15 (-) Hong Kong 128 135 4.9
16 (+5) Saudi Arabia 87 118 35.2
17 (+1) Australia 101 114 12.6
18 (+1) China 99 110 11.0
19 (-5) Portugal 131 105 -19.7
20 (+2) Japan 86 96 12.0

Source: HMRC Trade Info.

top

More information

Download the full UK Food and Drink Export Performance statistics research report - (Full year 2012) - pdf | 3.8MB


Last reviewed: 15 Mar 2013