From alcohol to jewellery, the UK provides some of the most popular exports in the world. Despite Brexit, Blighty has continued to stay in its place for international trade. Now, British cheese is having its day as the demand is growing faster as revealed by new research by The Department of International Trade.
The report revealed that British cheese exports totalled a record £665m in 2018 making the UK one of the top ten cheese exporters globally with 47 countries currently importing over £1m of British cheese annually. While Europe has always been and remains the top importer for British cheese in the past, demand from Asia has escalated by 289.3% over the past five years compared to the EU which grew by 39.4%.
Indeed, the demand from Asian countries has skyrocketed as China’s export value grew from £670,000 in 2013 to £6.5m in 2018, representing a 9,567% increase. This is not the only gouda news. Other markets which saw a steep increase in cheese trade included Lithuania, Malaysia, Jordan, Egypt, Romania and Thailand among others.
Outside the EU, the US is the biggest importer of British cheese with trade worth £50m in 2018 up from £10.3m in 2013. Lebanon ranked second after the US with exports worth £9m growing from £7.6m in 2013.
Interestingly, out of the 700 varieties of cheese UK produces, cheddar has proven to be the most popular, made up 48.1% of the market being worth £319.7m in 2018. Fresh cheese such as UK moz-zarella-style products came in second.
Commenting on the increased demand for cheese, international trade secretary Liam Fox said: “British Cheddar dates back over 800 years and continues to be one of the most consumed cheeses in the world. Latest HMRC data showing the soaring demand for British cheese across Asian economies serves as evidence of the truly global appeal of British produce and growing ambitions amongst UK cheese exporters to break into prosperous markets which will be at the forefront of the world stage in years to come.”
With the brielliant news that Blighty continues to prove itself as one of the most sought af-ter exporters, in and outside of the EU, we’re sure to say that UK businesses have nothing to fear when it comes to British products. 
