Cranswick wins approval to export to US

Hull-based Cranswick said its US business could be very lucrative after it won prestigious accreditation from the United States Department of Agriculture.

“We have big ambitions for the US,” said Cranswick’s sales and marketing director Jim Brisby. “We start exporting at the end of May. We can get 20 to 30 per cent more for ribs in the US than in the UK.”

Cranswick’s £13m investment in its Preston site near Hull has turned the site into a state of the art factory that meets stringent US standards.

“The US accreditation is very technically demanding,” said Mr Brisby.

“It demands improved traceability and hygiene standards and we have met these criteria.”

Baby back ribs are far more popular in the US than in the UK and Cranswick believes it can export 95 per cent of its ribs – the equivalent of over 50,000 ribs a week.

Mr Brisby said the accreditation will open up other avenues and it hopes to start exporting spare ribs once the baby back ribs export business is up and running.

Cranswick is also looking at exporting to East Asia. Mr Brisby said the pound’s weakness has made the Far East far more financially attractive.

He was talking yesterday as Cranswick announced record annual sales and profits.