Jun 27, 2011

UK farm exports to get boost in US$1.6 billion trade deals

The UK and China are expected to announce business deals worth US$1.60 billion on Monday (Jun 27), including the reopening of UK poultry exports to China and increased pork exports, the UK government said.

The deals will be announced following talks in London on Monday between British Prime Minister David Cameron and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who is in the middle of a European tour taking in Hungary, Britain and Germany.

As Greece teeters on the brink of default, Beijing is seeking to safeguard its vast holdings of euro-denominated assets and to preserve trade growth with the EU, its largest trading partner.

Deals worth more than one billion pounds are set to be announced after Monday's talks between Cameron and Wen, Cameron's office said.

It gave no details but a government source said agreements could be reached in the energy, retail and design sectors.

The two sides are expected to announce the reopening of the Chinese market for UK poultry exports, potentially worth GBP10 million (US$16 million) a year, UK officials said. China banned poultry products from Britain following an outbreak of bird flu at a farm in eastern England in 2007.

The UK and China will also announce an expansion of trade in pork products, following agreements last November to export British breeding pigs and British pig meat to China.

A further deal to supply 800 breeding pigs will be signed. Five more British farms will be approved to export pig meat to China in a deal worth more than 25 million pounds, the UK said.

Wen's visit is the latest of several recent high-level diplomatic exchanges between the UK and China, including a visit to China by Cameron last November.

Britain wants to double trade with China by 2015 to some US$100 billion, in line with the UK government's strategy of expanding business with fast-growing emerging markets to help offset subdued domestic demand at a time of sharp spending cuts.