Britain's booming food and drink industry is defying Brexit doom-mongers and challenging national stereotypes around the world by selling cheese to France, chocolate to Switzerland and even wine to Italy, official figures reveal.
Britain's spirits are drank in nearly every corner of the world, with exports of gin to the US worth £158million and sales of whisky rocketing by up to 40 per cent.
Britain sells 42,000 tonnes of pork to China every year, £400million worth of smoked salmon around the globe and nearly £300million of beef, government trade figures show.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary Andrea Leadsom hailed Britain's 'trailblazing' exporters and told MailOnline that the popularity of our food and drink products in every corner of the world was proof Britain can thrive outside the EU.
Revealed: How our 'trailblazing' food and drinks industry is defying Brexit doom-mongers and challenging national stereotypes around the world by selling cheese to France, chocolate to Switzerland and even wine to Italy
Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom says popularity of Britain's food and drink products overseas is proof we can thrive outside the EU
Britain's cheese exports are worth £356m, with £50m going to France alone
English sparkling wine sold in record 27 nations, including Italy and South Africa
UK sells 42 tonnes of pork to China every year - up a massive 73 per cent in a year
By Matt Dathan, Political Correspondent For Mailonline
4 January 2017
Britain's booming food and drink industry is defying Brexit doom-mongers and challenging national stereotypes around the world by selling cheese to France, chocolate to Switzerland and even wine to Italy, official figures reveal.
Britain's spirits are drank in nearly every corner of the world, with exports of gin to the US worth £158million and sales of whisky rocketing by up to 40 per cent.
Britain sells 42,000 tonnes of pork to China every year, £400million worth of smoked salmon around the globe and nearly £300million of beef, government trade figures show.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary Andrea Leadsom hailed Britain's 'trailblazing' exporters and told MailOnline that the popularity of our food and drink products in every corner of the world was proof Britain can thrive outside the EU.
Britain's booming food and drink industry is defying Brexit doom-mongers and breaking national stereotypes around the world by selling cheese to France, chocolate to Switzerland and even wine to Italy, official figures reveal
She and other Brexit supporters say Britain will enjoy even further export growth when Britain officially cuts ties with Brussels and can strike new bilateral trade deals with non-European nations.
One of Britain's strongest food exports is cheese – worth a staggering £356million in 2016 after a rise of 50 per cent over the last five years.
Surprisingly, one in every seven pounds-worth of British cheese is sold to France – the world's cheese capital. Nearly £40million of cheese exports goes to the US.
Britain is also busting national stereotypes in Switzerland, where it sells £5million worth of chocolate a year.
British chocolate is munched in a total of 140 countries and exports rose by two thirds in the last six years.
English sparkling wine is now shipped to a record 27 countries around the world, including major wine producing countries like France, Italy and South Africa.
It is also breaking into new markets in the Caribbean and Japan.
Other types of alcohol exported abroad include English cider sold to Russia, £158million of gin a year to the US, while exports of whisky to India in the first half of 2016 rose by 41 per cent compared to the previous year.
British chocolate is munched in a total of 140 countries and exports rose by two thirds in the last six years
English cider is being sold to Russia
Whisky is another big British export
British langoustine are being enjoyed overseas, with exports to Mediterranean countries like Spain worth £80million a year.
Britain's famous Nairn's biscuits are extremely popular in the US, Canada and South Africa, while Tiptree jam exports have seen a significant boost in demand from China and the Middle East.
China is also a mass market for British pork, worth an estimated £420million last year – up an impressive 73 per cent on the previous year.
Other major markets for British pork include the US and Australia.
UK beef exports have been given a boost by demand for premium cuts in Hong Kong and Singapore.
And the value of smoked salmon sales overseas rose by 11 per cent this year and are worth nearly £400million a year.
English sparkling wine is now shipped to a record 27 countries around the world, including major wine producing countries like France, Italy and South Africa
One of Britain's strongest food exports is cheese – worth a staggering £356million in 2016 after a rise of 50 per cent over the last five years.
Americans are the biggest fans of the luxury food, with the US buying £121million in the first seven months of 2016 but we also exported nearly £40million to China and £6million to Vietnam in the same period.
Praising British food and drink exporters, Environment Secretary Mrs Leadsom said: 'Our food and drink industry is a global success story and it is fantastic to think our high-quality meat, award-winning cheese and traditional smoked salmon are enjoyed around the world.
'It is our reputation for safety, welfare and traceability that attracts international customers and in the year ahead I hope our trailblazing exporters help our newer businesses reach these markets and generate millions for our growing economy.'
The Government's Great British Food campaign has recently published a new strategy to target nine key emerging markets, including Australia and the United Arab Emirates, which it has pinpointed as having the biggest growth potential.
Ministers are aiming to boost British exports by £2.9billion across these markets over the next five years.
FOOD AND DRINK EXPORTS IN NUMBERS
42,000
Tonnes of British pork sold to China every year
£356m
The sales of British cheese overseas
£50m
The value of British cheese exported to France in a year
140
The number of countries buying British chocolate
£158m
The value of gin exports to the US
27
The number of countries we export English sparkling wine to around the world - a new record
41%
The rise in exports of whiskey to India in the first half of last year alone
Britain's spirits are drank in nearly every corner of the world, with exports of gin to the US worth £158million and sales of whisky rocketing by up to 40 per cent.
Britain sells 42,000 tonnes of pork to China every year, £400million worth of smoked salmon around the globe and nearly £300million of beef, government trade figures show.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary Andrea Leadsom hailed Britain's 'trailblazing' exporters and told MailOnline that the popularity of our food and drink products in every corner of the world was proof Britain can thrive outside the EU.
Revealed: How our 'trailblazing' food and drinks industry is defying Brexit doom-mongers and challenging national stereotypes around the world by selling cheese to France, chocolate to Switzerland and even wine to Italy
Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom says popularity of Britain's food and drink products overseas is proof we can thrive outside the EU
Britain's cheese exports are worth £356m, with £50m going to France alone
English sparkling wine sold in record 27 nations, including Italy and South Africa
UK sells 42 tonnes of pork to China every year - up a massive 73 per cent in a year
By Matt Dathan, Political Correspondent For Mailonline
4 January 2017
Britain's booming food and drink industry is defying Brexit doom-mongers and challenging national stereotypes around the world by selling cheese to France, chocolate to Switzerland and even wine to Italy, official figures reveal.
Britain's spirits are drank in nearly every corner of the world, with exports of gin to the US worth £158million and sales of whisky rocketing by up to 40 per cent.
Britain sells 42,000 tonnes of pork to China every year, £400million worth of smoked salmon around the globe and nearly £300million of beef, government trade figures show.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary Andrea Leadsom hailed Britain's 'trailblazing' exporters and told MailOnline that the popularity of our food and drink products in every corner of the world was proof Britain can thrive outside the EU.
Britain's booming food and drink industry is defying Brexit doom-mongers and breaking national stereotypes around the world by selling cheese to France, chocolate to Switzerland and even wine to Italy, official figures reveal
She and other Brexit supporters say Britain will enjoy even further export growth when Britain officially cuts ties with Brussels and can strike new bilateral trade deals with non-European nations.
One of Britain's strongest food exports is cheese – worth a staggering £356million in 2016 after a rise of 50 per cent over the last five years.
Surprisingly, one in every seven pounds-worth of British cheese is sold to France – the world's cheese capital. Nearly £40million of cheese exports goes to the US.
Britain is also busting national stereotypes in Switzerland, where it sells £5million worth of chocolate a year.
British chocolate is munched in a total of 140 countries and exports rose by two thirds in the last six years.
English sparkling wine is now shipped to a record 27 countries around the world, including major wine producing countries like France, Italy and South Africa.
It is also breaking into new markets in the Caribbean and Japan.
Other types of alcohol exported abroad include English cider sold to Russia, £158million of gin a year to the US, while exports of whisky to India in the first half of 2016 rose by 41 per cent compared to the previous year.
British chocolate is munched in a total of 140 countries and exports rose by two thirds in the last six years
English cider is being sold to Russia
Whisky is another big British export
British langoustine are being enjoyed overseas, with exports to Mediterranean countries like Spain worth £80million a year.
Britain's famous Nairn's biscuits are extremely popular in the US, Canada and South Africa, while Tiptree jam exports have seen a significant boost in demand from China and the Middle East.
China is also a mass market for British pork, worth an estimated £420million last year – up an impressive 73 per cent on the previous year.
Other major markets for British pork include the US and Australia.
UK beef exports have been given a boost by demand for premium cuts in Hong Kong and Singapore.
And the value of smoked salmon sales overseas rose by 11 per cent this year and are worth nearly £400million a year.
English sparkling wine is now shipped to a record 27 countries around the world, including major wine producing countries like France, Italy and South Africa
One of Britain's strongest food exports is cheese – worth a staggering £356million in 2016 after a rise of 50 per cent over the last five years.
Americans are the biggest fans of the luxury food, with the US buying £121million in the first seven months of 2016 but we also exported nearly £40million to China and £6million to Vietnam in the same period.
Praising British food and drink exporters, Environment Secretary Mrs Leadsom said: 'Our food and drink industry is a global success story and it is fantastic to think our high-quality meat, award-winning cheese and traditional smoked salmon are enjoyed around the world.
'It is our reputation for safety, welfare and traceability that attracts international customers and in the year ahead I hope our trailblazing exporters help our newer businesses reach these markets and generate millions for our growing economy.'
The Government's Great British Food campaign has recently published a new strategy to target nine key emerging markets, including Australia and the United Arab Emirates, which it has pinpointed as having the biggest growth potential.
Ministers are aiming to boost British exports by £2.9billion across these markets over the next five years.
FOOD AND DRINK EXPORTS IN NUMBERS
42,000
Tonnes of British pork sold to China every year
£356m
The sales of British cheese overseas
£50m
The value of British cheese exported to France in a year
140
The number of countries buying British chocolate
£158m
The value of gin exports to the US
27
The number of countries we export English sparkling wine to around the world - a new record
41%
The rise in exports of whiskey to India in the first half of last year alone
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