Heathrow opens ‘Export Cafe’ as data reveals top destinations for popular British foods

Heathrow Airport has launched a mobile ‘Export Cafe’ at this year’s Multimodal cargo conference.

The stand is showcasing the most popular British food items exported from the airport as Heathrow looks to highlight its role as the UK’s biggest port by value.

The cafe’s menu of food exports will vary each day at the event, which takes place May 1-3 at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.

Alongside the culinary offering, which will range from Cornwall’s Tregothnan Tea and Scones to Wales’ Radnor Preserves jam, Heathrow has published new cargo data.

Japan was revealed to be the biggest recipient of British tea exports, accounting for over one-fifth (21%) of the 179,050 kg annual total, followed by Hong Kong (11%), South Korea (10%), Canada (10%) and Taiwan (7%).

The vast majority British salmon exported from Heathrow goes to the US, with 62% of the 41,335,695 kg total exported in 2017 landing on American plates.

The other top destinations for salmon were China (22%), Taiwan (6%), Canada (3%) and Lebanon (2%).

The data also showed that Hong Kong was the number one export destination for jams (61%) and sweet biscuits (32%).

Speaking at Multimodal, Heathrow’s head of cargo, Nick Platts, said: “Every day, British exports are transported across the world in vast quantities under the very seats of our passengers.

“From tea to salmon, car parts to diamonds, the array of exports going through our airport is astonishing and shows we are the port of choice for valuable items that need to be delivered quickly to long-haul destinations.”

He added: “We are already the country’s biggest port by value, and with expansion, we can double our cargo capacity and play a bigger role in keeping the UK open for business.”