Yorkshire urged to take bigger bite out of the global food trade

The one-day Best of British conference, organised by UK Trade & Investment with the newly launched Yorkshire Asian Business Association, sought to encourage more local food and drink producers to take their products global.

“Yorkshire and the Humber is the largest food and drink manufacturing county in the United Kingdom already. We employ over 55,000 people in food and drink manufacturing and as an economy itself that’s worth £6.9bn a year so we are a major force in food and drink retailing”, Yorkshire and the Humber food and drink sector specialist for the UKTI, Stephen Noblett, told the Yorkshire Post.

He said that there is “huge interest” in the Far East in British dairy products, with consumer tastes changing abroad and upmarket, speciality, artisan cheeses becoming popular.

Ethnic sauces from Britain, thanks to the country’s multi-cultural make-up, are much sought after in the Belgium, Dutch and central European markets, said Mr Noblett.

Among the speakers at the event, held in Bradford, was Jeewon Lee, assistant trade commissioner for UKTI Hong Kong, who said that although Hong Kong was a British colony up until about 15 years ago, British products do not have a strong presence there. Imported food and drink largely comes from France, Italy and the United States.

Ms Lee also said that Hong Kong is a “divided society” with one half consuming traditional food and drink, while the other half are made up of the expat community and those educated abroad.

The latter would be the target market for British food and drink producers, she suggested.

Ms Lee added that there exists “a growing trend” in Hong Kong for the consumption of health and organic foods, partly because of the influence of the Australian expat community.

Speaker Agustin del Valle P Lores, trade and investment officer at the Britsh Embassy in Mexico, told the audience that Mexico was was the largest trading nation in Latin America, trading more than Brazil and Argentina combined.

With a population of 112 million and a median age of 26, Mexico’s middle class is “expanding dramatically”, he said, while GDP growth was 3.8 per cent in 2012, with the same growth expected this year.

There are eight major supermarket chains in Mexico, with the biggest being Walmart, he said.

Walmart, the US giant which owns Leeds-based Asda, is planning to showcase British products via dedicated aisles in its stores from October, meaning there are opportunities for products to be imported on a temporary basis.

Department stores in Mexico have gourmet sections, currently dominated by products from France, Italy and Spain, which also offer opportunities for British producers, he said.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s Cape Town is its “capital of food and drink”, said David Edmondson, vice consul for trade and investment for UKTI in South Africa. “South Africa covers just three per cent of the African continent and contributed 25 per cent of its GDP.”

The time difference with the UK is only two hours and English is the language of business, helping to ensure it is “pretty easy” to do business with South Africa, said Mr Edmondson.

The audience also heard about export opportunities in Iceland, a country of 318,000 inhabitants, described by the UKTI as “highly dependent on international trade”.

Petur Stefansson, director at UKTI Iceland, described the market as “sophisticated” and “mature”, highlighting the close links between the country and the UK. “We are closer to the UK than we are to Scandinavia culturally.”

He said that Norway, the United States and Germany are currently the biggest markets from which Iceland imports, with the UK sitting in 10th place. “Our goal is to move the UK from 10th place to at least fifth place. Iceland is a small market but it presents big opportunities.”

Mark Robson, UKTI regional director, said: “Yorkshire as a region is a driving force in many different sectors, from pioneering healthcare innovation through to precision engineering and advanced manufacturing, but if there is one thing that truly sets us apart from the rest it is the quality of our food and drink. From pies, beers and cheeses through to curry sauces and fresh and frozen ready meals, we are home to products that are the envy of the world, and we want local producers to understand that and capitalise on their global potential.”