UK breakfast cereals show strong popularity abroad, FDF report

Total exports in this category – which includes breakfast cereals, sweet biscuits, savoury biscuits, cakes and breads – reached £1.9bn in 2008.

This was the second largest category of overall food and drink exports, making up almost 20 percent of total exports during the year, which were valued at £9.2bn.

Breakfast cereals​

Breakfast cereals made up the largest part of the cereal and bakery goods export category, accounting for £353m. Exports of cereals rose just under 13 per cent in 2008.

The largest market for UK cereals is Ireland, which is worth £103m. Exports to Ireland in 2008 were up almost 15 per cent on the previous year.

Exports to Germany rose by 60 per cent to a total of £13m. Sweden was the third largest market, with exports rising 54 per cent to reach almost £9m

Sweet biscuits​

Sweet biscuits accounted for ​​£204m of the cereal and bakery export market in 2008. The category grew by 15 per cent over the previous year.

The largest market for sweet biscuit exports was again Ireland, worth £75m. Exports to Ireland rose almost 8 per cent in 2008.

Exports to Canada, Australia and the Netherlands – placed as the 4th, 5th and 6th markets for these products – grew by 36, 39 and 27 per cent respectively.

Savoury biscuits​

Savoury biscuit exports grew by 14 per cent to ​​£32m. The top three markets were the US, Ireland and Canada, which grew 18, 16 and 26 per cent respectively.

Cakes​

Cake exports reached £157m, an overall increase of 12 per cent over 2007.

Ireland accounted for 57 per cent of total exports, but saw only 6 per cent growth in the year. The Netherlands and France were the next two largest markets for cakes, growing 26 and 35 per cent respectively.

Bread​

Exports of bread increased 25 per cent to £93m. Particularly strong growth was attributed to the markets of the Netherlands (70 per cent) and Portugal (43 per cent).

Overall exports​

The FDF report, which uses figures gathered by Leatherhead Food International, reveals that overall UK exports of food and non-alcoholic drinks increased by 20 percent in 2008, reaching a value of £9.23bn.

“This is not only the steepest rise seen in recent history but also marks a third consecutive year of record food and non-alcoholic drink export performance,”​ said FDF.

According to FDF, all key markets recorded strong growth. Other sectors covered by the report (in descending order of size) include: Prepared foods; fish and seafood; meat and animal products; dairy; fruit and vegetables; tea, coffee, cocoa and spices; sugar and sugar confectionery; and non-alcoholic drinks.