China’s appetite for British milk, pork, tea and salmon led to a 12 per cent jump in food exports to the country last year but the industry says it needs more government support to exploit overseas demand.
Steve Barnes, economic and commercial services director at the Food and Drink Federation, the industry body, said the Chinese market was particularly attractive because it complemented British eating habits. “The Chinese diet is different — they tend to eat things that we don’t consume, like chicken feet, pigs’ faces, trotters and offal,” he said.
British pork producers were waiting for approval from the Chinese authorities to export pig trotters, a trade that was “potentially huge”, Mr Barnes said.