Exports to France decline


14 December 1999



Exports to France decline


FRANCE has lost its leading position as Britains biggest food and drink market in the wake of the continuing beef ban, according to figures from consultants Food from Britain.

Exports of products not the French banned list, including whisky, foodstuffs and lamb, dropped 6% to £722 million in the first eight months this year.

The consultancy blamed the strength of Sterling and the weakening of the Euro for the French setback.

The three-year beef ban has cost British farmers business worth about £170m a year. France accounted for about a third of the 274,000 tonnes of beef exported from Britain before the ban.

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