UK Cheese Exports Slow Down in Third Quarter
UK - UK cheese exports in the third quarter of 2018 (July-September) continued to grow year on year, but at 2 per cent the pace was considerably slower than in the last two quarters.This slowdown is due to a change in trends, with quarterly exports growing through 2017 but falling through 2018, after peaking in Q1.
Growth in the first half of the year was primarily driven by increased exports to the EU, but this dropped off considerably in Q3.
There was still notable year-on-year growth in our exports to Ireland, up 27 per cent, but this did not improve our trade balance, as it was outweighed by a larger increase in Irish exports to the UK.
There were also increased exports to North America and Asia compared to Q3 2017, particularly to Malaysia, China and the US.
The new dairy trade deal signed between the UK and China in August hasn’t noticeably boosted September trade, but may support exports in the future.
TheCattleSite News Desk