February 23, 2018

Milk powder is UK's top export product to China in 2017

China went one notch higher as it became the eighth-largest importer of food and drinks from the UK in 2017, due to a growing Chinese appetite for British milk powder and salmon, among others.

According to trade figures released by the UK's Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), milk powder was the top export product in terms of value last year, when exports were worth £72.9 million (US$101.724 million), up 44% on 2016, reported the China Daily.

The UK exported £69.9 million ($97.7 million) of salmon to China last year, up 28%.

Altogether UK food and drink exports to China in 2017 grew 28% to £564.4 million ($786 million).

From ninth in 2016, China rose to eighth in rankings when UK exports to China totalled 439.5 million pounds in volume.

The report said the US is the only country outside the EU to consume more British food and drink than China.

"As Prime Minister Theresa May demonstrated during her recent trip to China, the UK's mouth-watering food and drink continues to grow in popularity across the globe with China now the eighth-largest export market for UK food and drink", Defra said in a statement.

The UK Food and Drink Federation also said meat has helped businesses begin to exploit the value of China as an export destination.

China announced plans to lift a ban on British beef imports last January, and two months before, two companies in Northern Ireland gained approval to export pig trotters to China in a deal that could generate £20 million ($27.97 million) a year for UK farmers. Rick Alberto