UK has reached an agreement with China which would allow the import of UK dairy products made with milk from third countries. The agreement is estimated to be worth £240 million over 5 years to the UK.
With demand for most dairy categories growing by more than 20% each year in China, it is one of the country’s fastest growing areas of food demand. The UK exported over £96 million of dairy products to China in 2017, and there has been significant interest in the market.
The introduction of a new levy on sugar has had little impact on consumer behaviour in the UK, according to a report by market research firm Nielsen.
Some 62% of UK shoppers claim to have not changed their consumption behaviour ’in any way’ following the introduction of the sugar tax, Nielsen says. Just 20% of respondents said they were checking sugar content on packages more frequently since the tax has come into effect.
Following the launch of Arla Fibre earlier this year, Arla Foods is to expand the range with the addition of a new plain variant. Introduced in response to UK government guidelines that as a nation we are not hitting the recommended 30g of fibre a day, the plain format will sit alongside the current range of four fruit-based flavours.
With no added sugar, the plain yogurt is ideal for a variety of usage occasions and provides consumers with an easy way to increase fibre intake. With 5.3g of fibre per 150g, Arla Fibre’s new plain format is a low fat source of the nutrient but without the taste or texture of fibre.
“It is vitally important that the UK dairy industry is recognised and prioritised during Brexit negotiations”, Dr David Dobbin, Chairman of Dairy UK, said speaking at Dairy UK’s Brexit and Beyond industry seminar in London and at the organisation’s annual dinner.
Dr Dobbin said it is in the national interest for dairy to be given due prominence during the Brexit process. He said: “The importance and relevance of dairy must not be forgotten or traded to the benefit of other sectors.”
Dr Dobbin told delegates that the dairy industry in the UK sees opportunities as well as threats in Brexit but everyone wants stability. He said the UK government and all political decision-makers must ensure that: trading arrangements with the EU without tariff and non-tariff barriers are continued; the relationship with the EU is clarified before negotiating free trade agreements with third countries; there is continued access to skilled and unskilled labour; any review of existing regulations or the introduction of new regulations will not create non-tariff barriers; UK farmers are not disadvantaged compared to their European neighbours.
Arla branded products recorded the largest growth of any of the 100 UK grocery brands listed, achieving growth of £37m in 2016. The Arla brand portfolio grew almost four times that of the next closest brand (Pepsi, £8.5m), reflecting a strong sales performance of volume driven growth of 7.6 per cent last year.
The Arla brand is the 21st most valuable grocery brand in the UK as it debuts in The Grocer’s prestigious Britain’s Biggest Brands index, an annual report of the UK’s 100 most popular names in food and drink. The achievement is in line with Arla’s UK Strategy 2020, the organisation’s most ambitious business strategy, aiming to create the Arla brand into a top household name by 2020 and establishing itself as the champion of British dairy.