£50m boost for British pork as export market opens in Taiwan

A new agreement that will see British farmers and food producers export pork to Taiwan for the first time is expected to be worth in excess of  £50 million over the next five years. The deal will also enable UK exporters ta tap in to overseas demand for parts of the pig carcass that are not commonly purchased in the UK, such as offal, meaning UK farmers and pork processors will be able to generate income for the whole carcass. Defra says exporters can take advantage of the market as soon as the administrative listing process is completed and export certification is made available.

The  deal has been secured by the UK government, working with the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and UK Export Certification Partnership (UKECP).

Said Food Minister George Eustice, “Access to this new market in Taiwan is great news for our farmers and producers and gives a welcome boost to the pork production industry – already worth £1.3 billion to the UK economy. This is a significant development for pork exporters and reinforces our reputation for producing high quality food and drink, guaranteeing quality from farm to fork.”

AHDB International Market Development Director, Dr Phil Hadley said:  “We estimate the value to the UK to be in excess of £50m based on current UK export capacity but if this were to rise to match the strong demand for pork imports in Taiwan, where last year alone imports rose by 26 per cent to US$178.3m, the opportunity could be worth more than £100m over the next five years. This is an exciting development and a great step forward for the UK and Taiwan.”

.The Taiwanese deal comes hard on the heels of another boost for the UK meat industry: at the end of June, China lifted its two-decade-long ban on UK beef exports following the BSE outbreak. The lifting of the ban will allow official market access negotiations to begin, estimated to be worth over £250million in the first five years alone.