British food and farming exporters have lined up £80m of new overseas opportunities this year after Defra’s agri‑food attachés helped strip away barriers in key global markets.
Defra said its global network has already cleared 20 export barriers in 2026, opening fresh routes for beef, dairy, poultry, seafood, genetics and speciality food.
Recent gains include genetics exports to the United States, cheese shipments to Brazil and new trout access in China, alongside new market openings for British poultry and eggs in the UAE.
Defra has also flagged processed animal protein prospects in Indonesia worth about £10m a year, cookie dough exports to India and new UK seafood access in Kuwait.
A more streamlined Chinese export registration system is expected to save businesses an estimated £50m a year, according to the government figures.
Farming minister Stephen Morgan welcomed attachés back to the UK for a week of engagement with food and farming businesses.
Discussions centred on how government can help exporters capitalise on new trade deals and the forthcoming EU‑UK Sanitary and Phytosanitary SPS Agreement, which is expected to ease trade with the EU, still the UK’s biggest agri‑food market.
He said attachés based in priority markets from the USA to East Asia were drawing on local knowledge and diplomatic contacts to dismantle obstacles that might otherwise take years to shift, with “£80m in opportunities unlocked this year alone” and rising demand for UK food and drink.
“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,” he added.
Balwinder Dhoot, director of sustainability and growth at the Food and Drink Federation FDF, said the network offers valuable in‑market support and is a key part of the industry’s ambition to reach £35bn in UK food and drink exports by 2035.
He said the FDF is keen to work more closely with the attachés to support the UK’s 12,000 food and drink manufacturers.
Defra said the engagement week follows a strong year for the attaché network, despite tough trading conditions and geopolitical uncertainty, with 55 export barriers removed in 2025 and opportunities worth around £127m a year.
Those wins included pork access to Mexico, £35m a year in dairy exports to Egypt and live‑seafood access to Vietnam, plus approvals for two UK dairy plants to export to Brazil.
Broader trade progress includes a 13,000‑tonne quota for British beef into the high‑value US market, worth up to £70m, and new access for ovine genetics that has helped exports climb to more than £2.5m, according to industry estimates.
The government said these developments underline the role of agri‑food attachés in backing exporters, removing market‑access barriers and helping more UK food and farming products reach global customers, with the next task being to turn new market openings into lasting export growth.
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