Guide launched to boost UK food and drink exports
UK food and drink companies can receive advice to begin or accelerate their export journey with the launch of a new five-step guide.
Currently only one in five of the UK’s manufacturers export, which presents a massive untapped opportunity for the industry.
Launched today (26 April 2017) at an export breakfast for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Food and Drink Manufacturing in parliament, the guide, Food and drink exporting – Five steps to success, has been developed by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) and Food and Drink Exporters Association (FDEA) to encourage current and would-be exporters to think about the core elements of the export process, answering key questions and providing useful tips and relevant contacts.
As the UK leaves the European Union, manufacturers must be prepared if they are to take advantage of new opportunities to sell quality UK produced food and drink overseas. UK food and drink exports reached a record £20 billion in 2016, while branded food and drink exports grew 11.5% to £5.2 billion. FDF has set an ambition to help grow exports of UK branded goods by a third by 2020, to more than £6 billion.
In addition to the new guide, FDF has encouraged government to work with industry to scale-up its provision of specialist food and drink export support by putting in place a one stop shop to support small and medium sized exporters.
The first version of the guide launched in April 2016 was very well received by industry. More than 2,000 copies have been distributed to UK businesses and it has been downloaded more than 3,500 times.
Angela Coleshill, competitiveness director at FDF, says, “We hope that our guide will enable more of the UK’s 6,800 food and drink producers to grow their businesses by becoming successful exporters. Manufacturers in competing nations typically benefit from more generous government export support than those in the UK, so it is essential that organisations such as FDF and FDEA work together to help unlock our industry’s huge potential.
“While our future trading terms with the EU are unclear, now is the time for British businesses to embrace new opportunities in non EU countries and take advantage of rising demand to make inroads into new markets.”
John Whitehead, director of FDEA, adds, “There’s great interest across the globe in UK food and drink, which continues to possess a reputation for real quality. We’d like to see more manufacturers look beyond their domestic market and take advantage of these opportunities, which can really help businesses grow.”