Top Export Sectors 2008

Prepared foods exports

Prepared foods exports (including fats & oils, preserved fruit/veg, fruit juice, soups, sauces & condiments, ice cream, vinegar, animal feeds and other misc. products) grew 17.4% to £2,176.0m.

Cereal & bakery products exports

Cereal & bakery products exports amounted to £1,882.4m, up 27.7%, principally due to a 63.0% gain in the commodity cereals market to £549m.

Meat exports

Meat (and related animal products) exports were up 38.3%, driven primarily by a 43.9% increase in exports of lamb to £263.0m (including 43.8% growth in exports to the key French market, now accounting for 68.9% of UK lamb exports) and a 69.3% rise in exports of beef to £212.7m (including rises of 49% and 72% to the key markets of Ireland and The Netherlands respectively).

Fish & seafood exports

Fish & seafood exports were the laggard of the industry in 2008, growing a mere 2.4% to £1,006.2m.

Dairy products exports

Dairy products exports were up 9.7% to £837.9m. Ireland remains a key market overall, +10.7% to £317.7m, followed by France +4.4% to £64.5m.

Fruit & vegetable product exports

Fruit & vegetable product exports were 22.9% up to £729.3m. The no.1 market Ireland saw marginal growth of 2.0% to £203.3m, although greater progress was made in exports to other key European markets (Netherlands +28.5% to £84.0m, Germany +69.2% to £64.4m).

Tea, coffee, cocoa & spices exports

Tea, coffee, cocoa & spices exports at £675.4m were up 16.6%, whilst sugar & sugar confectionery exports rose 13.2% to £437.1m.

Non-alcoholic drink exports

Non-alcoholic drink (not including fruit juices which are part of the prepared foods category) exports grew 30.6%, the second highest category rise behind meat, to reach £264.1m.

UK Exports of Food & Non-alcoholic drinks by Sector, 2007-08
(£ million)
Sector 2007 2008 % change 2008 vs 2007
Other Prepared Foods (*) 1,852.9 2,176.0 17.4
Cereals and Bakery 1,473.6 1,882.4 27.7
Meat and Animal products 886.6 1,226.0 38.3
Fish and Seafood 982.3 1,006.2 2.4
Dairy 763.5 837.9 9.7
Fruit and Vegetables 593.3 729.3 22.9
Tea, Coffee, Cocoa and Spices 579.1 675.4 16.6
Sugar and Sugar Confectionery 386.3 437.1 13.2
Non-Alcoholic Drinks 202.2 264.1 30.6
Total 7,719.8 9,234.2 20.0

(*) Inc. fats & oils, preserved fruit/veg, fruit juice, soups, sauces & condiments, ice cream, vinegar, animal feeds and other miscellaneous products

Source: Leatherhead Food International

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More information

Research carried out by Leatherhead Food International for the Food and Drink Federation (June 2009)


Last reviewed: 03 Jun 2009