10 UK Export News You Might’ve Missed – Week 21
In this edition of Export News from Expordite, we’ll cover the top 10 UK export news and headlines from week 21 of 2024 — May 20th-26th, 2024.
Key News
General Export News
1. Export of live animals banned
“A new ban on exporting live animals came into law today (Monday 20 May) as the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Act received Royal Assent, capitalising on a post-Brexit freedoms and bolstering the UK’s position as a world leader in animal welfare standards.
The legislation delivers on a key manifesto commitment to ban the export of live animals including cattle, sheep, and pigs for slaughter and fattening from Great Britain.
The Act will ensure that animals are slaughtered domestically in high welfare UK slaughterhouses, reinforcing our position as a nation of animal lovers and a world leader on animal welfare, boosting the value of British meat and helping to grow the economy.“
Source: GOV.uk
2. TRA finds scrapping e-bike tariffs could save UK £51m per year
“The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) has published its initial findings recommending that anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures on electric bicycles (e-bikes) from China should be revoked.
Following the transition reviews of the measures, the TRA found that keeping them in place would not be in the economic interest of the UK. Revoking the measures could:
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benefit the UK economy by an average of £51m per year;
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save consumers an average of £260 per e-bike; and
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result in an average of 31,000 more e-bikes being bought per year in the UK.
Sales of e-bikes in the UK reached an estimated £325 million in 2023, compared with £96 million in 2018, and are expected to grow further in the coming years. Although it is likely that dumping and subsidisation of Chinese e-bikes would likely recur if the measures were no longer applied and that the UK production industry would suffer some injury, it was found that this injury did not outweigh the benefits to the UK economy or consumers if the measures were revoked.“
Source: GOV.uk
3. Selling England (no longer) by the pound: Currency mismatches and the dollarisation of UK exports
“Most international trade is denominated in dominant currencies (Gopinath and Itskhoki 2021) such as the US dollar. What explains the adoption of dominant currency pricing and what are its macroeconomic implications? In a recent paper (Garofalo et al. 2024), we explore a rare instance of transition in aggregate export invoicing patterns. In the aftermath of the depreciation that followed the Brexit referendum in 2016, UK exporters progressively shifted to invoicing most of their exports in dollars, rather than in pounds. This was driven by firms more exposed to currency mismatches – for example, exporting in pounds but importing in dollars before the depreciation. As a result of this aggregate transition to dollar pricing, a dollar appreciation now depresses demand for UK exports by twice as much than before 2016.”
Source: CEPR
4. Vietnam opens its doors to UK pork exports for the first time
“Pork producers in the UK will now have access to the Vietnamese market for the first time, in a deal estimated to be worth around £12 million to the sector over the first five years of trade.“
Source: Farmers Guardian
5. UK/Germany: NZTC report sets out plan for green hydrogen export between Scotland and Germany
“UK-based Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC) and German-based Cruh21 have launched a report that will help unlock the full potential of a green hydrogen collaboration between Scotland and Germany.
The ‘Enabling Green Hydrogen Exports: Matching Scottish Production to German Demand’ report analyses Scottish hydrogen production and German demand creating matching scenarios for hydrogen export and consumption, exploring multi-sector end use, the technologies, infrastructure, and regulatory frameworks required to enable a safe and effective distribution of hydrogen.
The report indicates prospective Scottish hydrogen exports could potentially satisfy 22% to 100% of Germany’s hydrogen import volume by 2045“
Source: Energy Pedia
6. Germany, Japan, amp; UK ‘top three plastic waste exporting countries’
“A new report by ocean plastics campaign group CleanHub has found that Germany, Japan, and the UK are the top three plastic waste exporting countries.
Key report findings showed the top 10 countries export more than 4.4 million tonnes of plastic waste per year, accounting for 71% of all plastic waste exports.
Additionally, the top 10 exporting countries are all high-income, developed nations, and seven of them are in Europe.”
Source: Packaging News
7. New Regulation on waste shipments enters into force
“New rules to ensure the EU takes greater responsibility for its waste entered into force on Monday 20 May 2024.
The new Waste Shipments Regulation sets out stricter rules on the export of waste to non-EU countries. The Regulation will also increase traceability and facilitate the shipments of waste for recycling in the EU and beyond. It will support the circular economy and ensure that waste exported from the EU is treated in an environmentally sustainable way.“
Source: European Commission
8. JCB’s export saga amid controversy over Russia withdrawal
“JCB has admitted that some of its products were sent to Russia after initially stating it had stopped all exports due to the Ukraine war.
The company explained that these shipments occurred due to ‘contractual obligations’ but stated it has since ‘completely withdrawn’ from Russia and shut down a facility in Moscow.
Russian customs records, reported by The Guardian, showed that JCB, owned by the billionaire Bamford family – significant donors to the Conservative Party – continued to make new products available for Russian dealers after March 2, 2022, despite its public claims of halting exports. JCB, which opened a factory in Russia in 2016, had announced it ‘voluntarily paused’ all operations in Russia.“
Source: The Scottish Farmer
9. Q1 dairy trade review: exports mostly flat and imports on the uptick
“Total export volumes of dairy products from the UK have declined marginally in Q1 2024. Total export volume for Q1 2024 was 327,000 t, a decline of 2,300 t year-on-year. The level of EU exports remained almost at par, while exports to non-EU destinations declined by 2,300 t.
However, cheese, whey and yogurt saw significant year-on-year growth. This was driven by exports to both EU and non-EU nations. Cheese exports are the highest recorded in a quarter since 2020. Exports of cheese products saw the largest increase of 9,800 t followed by whey and whey products at 2,900 t respectively. Exports of yogurt registered an increase of 1,700 t while exports declined across other products in the basket. Cheese prices have been softening since the beginning of this year, making it attractive for buyers.“
Source: AHDB
10. Saudi Arabia potential attracts British lamb and dairy exporters
“This week, British lamb and dairy businesses headed to Saudi Arabia in a bid to meet growing consumer demand and build on long term export opportunities.
Exporters from both sectors have joined us at the Saudi Food Show in Riyadh from 21−23 May.
The show is Saudi Arabia’s leading event for food and beverage sourcing. It provides UK lamb and dairy exporters with the opportunity to meet key buyers from across the Middle East region.“
Source: AHDB
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