Top Export Markets
In 2010, the top 10 countries for UK exporters remained unchanged on 2009. The top 10 accounted for 74.1% of all UK food and non-alcoholic drink exports down 1.8% on the 2009 figure due to much stronger growth in smaller non-EU markets in 2010.
The two top 10 markets to suffer a fall in exports in 2010 were Italy (down 4.3%
mainly due to a 31.7% decline in sugar and a 275% decline in breakfast
cereals),
and Portugal (down 1.4% largely due to a fall in cereal commodities and lamb).
In this section:
Double digit growth was recorded in all 8 non-EU export markets in the top 20
list and 5 of the remaining 12 EU markets. The top 5 in terms of growth were:
- Finland (+62.2%, with a 225% increase in cane/beet sugar which overshadows strong
growth in tea, coffee, ice cream and sauces/condiments).
- Hong Kong (+36.3%, with a 50.9% increase in meat due to gains in the export of chicken
cuts and both fresh and frozen beef as well as sugars +95.7% and dairy +100.9%
driven by growth in the export of cheese and all milk categories).
- Germany (+35.7%, with a 13.5% increase in the largest prepared foods category, tea
+17%, ice cream +52% and sauces/condiments +28%)
- United States (+28.9%, with a continued rise in fish and seafood which now makes up 37% of
all food and non-alcoholic drinks exports to the US).
- United Arab Emirates (+22.7%, driven by a 2546% increase in frozen fish, a 392% increase in milled
products such as cereal grains and flour as well as strong gains in preserved
food +49.8% and chocolate +27.4%).
Growth markets
Growth markets just outside of the top 20 are Nigeria at no.24 (+11.8% with
frozen fish a fast growing sector), China at no.25 (+28.5%, including +1633% in
Dairy and large increases in food commodities such as cereals and flour),
Israel at
no.28 (+38.9% with a 23.3% increase in sugar confection) and South Africa at
no.30 (+60.7% including a 71.7% increase in sweet biscuits and 170.6% increase
in
unsweetened cakes and baked goods).
Outside the top 20 the only significant export markets that recorded negative
performances in 2010 were Japan and Greece.
Exports to Japan fell by 3.9% mainly due to a decline in milling products, fats
and oils and other commodities masking the growth in chocolate +47.3%, coffee
+26%, fish and seafood +17.6%.
The economic woes in Greece following the EU bailout resulted in UK exports
falling 19.3% as nearly all of the top sectors contracted, however gains were
made
in ice cream +40.2% and tea preparations +29.5%.
Top 20 export countries
UK Exports of Food & Non-alcoholic drinks:
Top 20 Countries - 2009-2010 (£ million)
| Rank |
Country |
2009 |
2010 |
% change 2009-10 |
| 1 (-) |
Ireland |
2,606.7
|
2,686.5 |
3.1 |
| 2 (-) |
France |
1,230.2 |
1,341.2 |
9.0 |
| 3 (-) |
Netherlands |
859.3 |
906.5 |
5.5 |
| 4 (-) |
Germany |
664.6 |
901.7 |
35.7 |
| 5 (-) |
Spain |
586.2 |
607.2 |
3.6 |
| 6 (-) |
Italy |
452.4 |
433.1 |
-4.3 |
| 7 (-) |
Belgium |
374.7 |
433.0 |
15.6 |
| 8 (-) |
United States |
303.0 |
390.7 |
28.9 |
| 9 (-) |
Denmark |
162.0 |
178.5 |
10.2 |
| 10 (-) |
Portugal |
154.0 |
151.8 |
-1.4 |
| 11 (+1) |
Norway |
127.6 |
149.3 |
17.1 |
| 12 (-1) |
Sweden |
130.4 |
142.4 |
9.2 |
| 13 (-) |
Canada |
124.3 |
139.0 |
11.8 |
| 14 (-) |
Poland |
113.3 |
130.7 |
15.3 |
| 15 (-) |
Russia |
96.8 |
115.4 |
19.2 |
| 16 (-) |
United Arab Emirates |
89.2 |
109.4 |
22.7 |
| 17 (-) |
Australia |
80.7 |
93.2 |
15.5 |
| 18 (+4) |
Hong Kong |
66.9 |
91.2 |
36.3 |
| 19 (+6) |
Finland |
49.9 |
80.9 |
62.2 |
| 20 (+3) |
Switzerland |
63.7 |
77.6 |
21.7 |
Source: HMRC Trade Info
Changes in ranking position are versus 2009.
top
More information
Download the full UK Food and Drink Export Performance (full year 2010) statistics research report - pdf | 200kb
Last reviewed: 07 Mar 2011