British food and farming businesses will benefit from £80 million in new export opportunities this year, as the government’s agri-food attachés unlocked global trade barriers, including genetics exports to USA, cheese exports to Brazil and trout access in China.
So far this year, 20 barriers have already been resolved by the attaché network, including a new streamlined Chinese export registration process that will save businesses £50 million annually.
Additional breakthroughs include delivering new market access for British poultry and eggs in the UAE, a significant win for exporting processed animal protein in Indonesia worth £10 million annually, and new approvals for cookie dough exports to India and UK seafood access in Kuwait.
Farming Minister Stephen Morgan welcomed the agri-food attachés back to the UK for a week of intensive engagement with British food and farming businesses. The attachés met producers, farmers and small businesses to discuss how the government can help them capitalise on the UK’s new trade deals and the forthcoming EU-UK SPS Agreement, which will remove barriers with the UK’s biggest agri-food trade market.
The week saw the attachés travel to Essex, visiting the world-famous Wilkin & Sons jam factory and fruit farm in Tiptree and the award-winning Danbury Ridge vineyard to mark English Wine Week, meeting passionate producers to help boost exports of these world-renowned products from the UK.
Alongside these visits, the attachés met around 100 food and drink businesses and industry associations spanning the breadth of the sector – from meat and dairy producers to drinks makers, small businesses and speciality food exporters – discussing how government can best support them in seizing the opportunities ahead.
Farming Minister Stephen Morgan said
Our agri-attachés are Britain’s boots on the ground for food and farming trade. Embedded in key markets from the USA to East Asia, they use their local knowledge and diplomatic connections to cut through barriers that would otherwise take years to resolve.
The results speak for themselves, with £80 million in opportunities unlocked this year alone, delivering real growth for British businesses.
As global appetite for UK food and drink continues to grow, the attaché network will keep playing a critical role to help British businesses build a lasting presence in the world’s most important markets.
Food and Drink Federation Director of Sustainability & Growth Balwinder Dhoot Said
The agri-food attaché network provides valuable in-market support to businesses and is a key part of our goal to reach £35bn in UK food and drink exports by 2035.
We are looking forward to working more closely with the attaches going forward to deliver strong benefits for the UK’s 12,000 food and drink manufacturers.
The engagement week comes on the back of a strong year for the network amid a challenging trading environment and geopolitical uncertainty. In 2025, the attachés resolved 55 export barriers estimated to be worth £127 million annually, from securing pork access to Mexico to removing costly obstacles for dairy exports to Egypt.
Last year, two UK dairy establishments were approved to export to Brazil, an important step in boosting exports to this growing market and seeing more British dairy on Brazilian shelves.
Under the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal, the government has secured a 13k Mt quota for British beef into the high-value US market, worth up to £70m. We have also seen new access for ovine genetics grow UK exports to more than £2.5m according to industry estimates, showcasing our world leading sheep breeds.
