10 UK Export News You Might’ve Missed - Week 17
In this edition of Export News from Expordite, we’ll cover the top 10 UK export news and headlines from week 17 of 2024 — April 22nd-28th, 2024.
Key News
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Britons Finally Taste Full Brexit as Costly Border Checks Begin
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Enhancing the Brexit Deal: Exploring the Impact of a UK–EU Veterinary Agreement on Agri-food Trade
General Export News
1. UK Government honours exceptional exporters with prestigious Made in the UK, Sold to the World Awards
“Ten SMEs announced as winners of the 2024 Made in the UK, Sold to the World Awards. A family-owned craft drinks B-Corp, an electric vehicle company and a rapid diagnostic tests specialist are among the 2024 winners of the Department for Business and Trade’s Made in the UK, Sold to the World Awards announced today.
Now in their second year, the awards celebrate the international sales success of small-medium businesses across the UK and provide a stepping stone for further growth and opportunity.“
Source: GOV.uk
2. UK and Saudi Arabia to host major trade expo – GREAT FUTURES – in Riyadh
“In partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Government, the UK Government’s GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland campaign is holding a major business, tourism and cultural expo in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 14 and 15 May 2024.
The flagship event will host around 750 delegates for a two-day exposition in Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD). The Deputy Prime Minister, Oliver Dowden, will spearhead a 300+ strong British delegation which will showcase the best of UK excellence and innovation.
GREAT FUTURES flagship event is the launch for a 12-month campaign to highlight UK expertise and capability in sectors that support Saudi Arabia’s ‘Vision 2030’.“
Source: GOV.uk
3. Enhancing the Brexit Deal: Exploring the Impact of a UK–EU Veterinary Agreement on Agri-food Trade
“A UK deal to harmonise veterinary standards with the EU could boost British agrifood exports to Europe by more than 22 per cent, according to researchers.
Significant enhancement of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) to incorporate specific Agricultural Extra agreements, complete with legally enforceable mechanisms, holds the potential to markedly boost the UK’s agri-food sector. Specifically, such improvements could increase agri-food exports by 22.5%, elevate imports by 5.6%, and contribute an additional 0.22% to the agriculture sector’s value added. Our scenario analysis underscores the economic impact of Brexit on agri-food trade and highlights the critical need for strategic, well-informed negotiations in shaping future UK-EU trade policies. These findings advocate for targeted adjustments to the TCA that could strategically enhance the UK’s agricultural trade dynamics with the EU, thereby supporting a more robust economic framework for both parties.“
Source: Aston Business School
4. Russia sanctions-busting? Big questions remain over UK car exports
“The extraordinary, unprecedented and largely unexplained flows of millions of pounds of British luxury cars into states neighbouring Russia continued in February, according to new official data.
Some £26m worth of British cars were exported to Azerbaijan in February, according to data from HM Revenue & Customs.
British cars are banned from being sent into Russia, both as “dual use” goods, which could be repurposed as weapons, and, for any cars over the value of £42,000, under specific luxury goods restrictions.
However, even as UK car exports to Russia plummeted to zero, they have risen sharply to states neighbouring Russia, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and, most notably of all, Azerbaijan.“
Source: Sky News
5. UK Export Finance and Barclays helps medical supplier send lifelines around the world
“UK Export Finance (UKEF) and Barclays have secured a £1.3 million trade finance package for Leicester-based business Unimed Procurement Services. The financing has allowed Unimed to fulfil a major delivery of over 350 ultrasound machines to Latin America and expand its international reach.
A winner of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise (2022), Unimed helps to improve health outcomes around the world by distributing medical supplies to international development agencies, governments, NGOs and research institutions. To date, it has supplied pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and laboratory supplies to clients in over 58 countries.
A financing guarantee from UKEF, the government export credit agency, helped Unimed to secure the Barclays financing package and export to a market which they had been preparing to enter.”
Source: Manufacturing and Engineering Magazine
6. Confusion Reigns over Brexit Border Checks Chaos
“The British government has insisted that the next round of Brexit border checks on plant and animals products will begin on April 30.
It follows a report in the Financial Times which claimed UK port authorities had been told that health and safety checks on EU imports would not be going ahead as planned due to fears of “significant disruption” with a return to long queues of lorries at ports.
In a statement issued in response, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it has full confidence the border infrastructure will be ready. The checks would proceed as planned and the priority from day one will be on the highest risk goods.
Businesses in the UK, which will have to pay up to £145 (€168) per consignment for EU imports from April 30, have been asking for the new border controls to be delayed until the autumn.”
Source: FPC Fresh Talks Daily
7. Two Northern Ireland firms selected for UK export awards
“Northern Irish firms Ciga Healthcare and IceMOS Technology are among the 10 winners of the Made in the UK, Sold to the World Awards, it was announced today.
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) awards celebrate the export success of small businesses around the UK, as new figures show it was the world’s fourth largest exporter of goods and services in 2022.
Ciga Healthcare in Ballymena now exports its rapid diagnostic tests including fertility tests, blood pressure monitors and blood glucose monitors to 80 countries.
And at semiconductor specialist IceMOS Technology in Belfast, 99% of its business exported outside of the British Isles.“
Source: Belfast Telegraph
8. Britons Finally Taste Full Brexit as Costly Border Checks Begin
“Just down the corridor from where Danish Crown’s pigs are slaughtered, boned and prepared for export as bacon, six staff have a new task: filling in customs and health certificates made necessary by the UK’s split from its largest trading partner.
The scene at the abattoir in Blans, Denmark, lays bare the change created by Brexit: More time than ever spent on untangling red tape for shipments to Britain. From April 30, the UK will impose checks on fresh food imports — a stark reversal from the era of frictionless trade when the country was part of the European Union.
For every consignment of bacon or other pork cuttings to England, Dorte Braendekilde, who works in Danish Crown’s shipping team, plugs details like the weight, departure date and destination into an EU database. It takes about ten minutes, before it goes to an onsite vet in Blans for certification as free from disease. It’s then re-uploaded, and stamped as “valid.”
The result is a five-page digital document UK authorities see when shipments arrive, each costing 120 kroner ($17). Companies need a certificate for each product type, so for Danish Crown that usually means one per truck. Any split shipments, though, would need more.
After the 2016 referendum, it took the UK and EU four and a half more years to figure out how they would keep trading. Yet it’s only now that companies like Danish Crown and Todd Meats are finally dealing with what was decided.“
Source: Bloomberg
9. Government to take ‘light tough’ approach to border controls
“The UK Government plans to take a ‘light touch’ approach to post-Brexit checks on food in a bid to avoid red tape a bureaucracy, according to the exports minister.“
Source: Food Manufacture
10. AHDB returns to FHA-Food & Beverage Singapore
“This week, AHDB is in Singapore, promoting British red meat and dairy at FHA-Food & Beverage, one of Asia’s largest food and drink exhibitions.
Taking place on 23−26 April, the event promises to be a vibrant platform for levy payers to showcase the excellence of British red meat and dairy products. The event is anticipated to bring in an audience of 60,000 visitors and 70 international pavilions representing 50 countries.
Five dairy and seven red meat exporters will join us at the Singapore Expo Convention and Exhibition Centre. In 2023, the UK exported 2,763 tonnes of dairy products to Singapore, valued at £8.1m. In the same year, the UK total dairy exports to Southeast Asia amounted to 8,830 tonnes, with a value of £24.0m.
Singapore presents an attractive market for UK red meat exporters; 1,094 tonnes were exported to the country in 2023, with a value of £2.3m. In 2023, the UK exported 19,855 tonnes of red meat to Southeast Asia (including Singapore), valued at £36.7m[1]. Singapore has a high expat population (nearly 30% in 2020), making it a prime opportunity for premium cuts of British beef, pork and lamb.“
Source: AHDB
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