The UK food and drink producers who are eyeing up the Chinese market

It's a difficult time for UK food and drink producers who export their products abroad. 

Since Brexit, trade with the EU has become almost impossible for many, the red tape weighing them down to a point where it's no longer viable to sell products to Britain's nearest neighbours; and the daily commotion from the White House on tariffs isn't filling food exporters with confidence.

So they're beginning to look elsewhere. And they're looking to China.

At Plymouth's Flavour Fest – a festival where food and drink producers can come together to sell their products and discuss the issues facing their industry, the talk is about trade. The talk is about China.

Giordana Lappon is from South Devon Chilli Farm. They make tangy sauces, conserves and chocolates from their home-grown chillies. They've almost given up on exporting to Europe and they're beginning to look east.

"Chinese trading deals are much better than EU ones," she says. She's at the beginning of the process, finding out more, working out how best to pitch her products further east.

One manufacturer of spirits – rums and gins and vodkas – told CGTN they have already made contact with Chinese retailers. 

Huge market

But the issue they face is one of volume. The Chinese market is huge. Their trading partner in Guangzhou was offering them eye-watering amounts of business, which would mean ramping up operations significantly.

It can be daunting. But there's help at hand, from a myriad of organisations, both in the UK and in China, that support companies who are looking to take that leap.

Susan Stewart, from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, told CGTN: "There are approvals from the Chinese government in terms of various plants that need to be approved before they're allowed into China. 

"It's about making sure the conditions on the Export Health Certificate are met, so it's never an easy win. But there are significant returns by leveraging those exports."

Granny Gothards is an ice cream manufacturer in Devon. Local cows provide the cream for a delicious and diverse range of flavours that have sold well in China.  

Amanda Ringelberg owns the company and she regards her expansion into China as an enriching experience, as well as a profitable one. Business, she says, is all about relationships and cultivating those friendships is key to successfully exporting their ice cream.

Business relationships are taken incredibly seriously by the Chinese. Ringelberg was invited to Shanghai to meet the people who would sell her ice-cream and says she was treated like royalty there.  

"That is the best way to build relationships with people," she says. "When you're all fighting around in a bowl of broth to find your prawn or your piece of meat, you can't help but bond with people."  

Friends for years

Chinese retailers have remained friends for years. They even flew to the UK to attend Ringelberg's daughter's wedding.

They talk about the three Rs. Research, relationships and respect. And if UK producers can get it right, they can add another R to that list: Reward.

"It's experiencing all those things," says Ringelberg. "So not only is it the value to a business, financially – your turnover and your profit – but if you can get out there and build those relationships with the people, you will grow not just your business, but you will grow as a person too."

The UK currently exports goods to China worth $40 billion and the Chinese appetite for high-quality, home-made British products is growing daily.  

If UK businesses do their homework, nurture their relationships and provide top-notch products, there's no end to the rewards they can reap – financially and culturally.