£50m boost for farmers as Taiwan opens market for British pork

The new agreement is expected to be worth more than £50 million over the next five years
The new agreement is expected to be worth more than £50 million over the next five years

British farmers are set to benefit from a new market as Taiwan prepares to welcome British pork exports for the first time.

Defra has announced that the new deal will be worth £50m in the first first years.

UK pork exports were worth £290 million to the UK economy last year, reaching over 80 export markets

The Taiwan deal means UK exporters can tap in to the overseas demand for parts of the pig carcass that are not commonly purchased in the UK, such as offal.

It means UK farmers and pork processors will be able to generate further income for the whole carcass.

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

Exporters can take advantage of the market as soon as the administrative listing process is completed and export certification is made available.

China deal

It follows a number of recent successes for UK food and drink exports, which reached a record level of £22 billion in 2017.

Last month, China lifted its two-decade long ban on UK beef exports following the BSE outbreak.

The agreement will allow official market access negotiations to begin, estimated to be worth over £250million in the first five years alone.

A team of trade experts are providing guidance to UK farming businesses as they enter into overseas markets for the first time or consider expanding their current global customer base.

This is complemented by the government’s Food is GREAT campaign, which highlights the success of current exporters and showcases the UK’s food and drink.