# Food and drink industry in England

The food and drink industry is an important sector in the English economy consisting of hot and alcoholic beverages, spices, cereals, livestock, fisheries, sugar and honey.
The total value of England's food and drinks exports is £10.2bn as of 2021.

## Trade

The value of food and drink exports in England were down by 9% from 2020 and 15% from 2019.
England's best selling beverages were worth 2.3bn, up 8% in 2021, however England's fruit and vegetable exports were hit hard with sales down by 36%.
The top export destination for food and drinks exports from England is Ireland with 15% of all exports at a value of 1.5bn in 2021, this is down by 25% from 2020.
France and US with exports up 12% and 10% respectively along with Germany and the Netherlands are also among the top 5 markets for the English food and drink exports.

## Categories

The top food and drinks export categories are:
* Beverages (such as English sparkling wine, and English whisky) (£2.3bn)
* Miscellaneous worth (£1.7bn)
* Agriculture (Cereals, Vegetables, Livestock)
* Coffee, tea and spices (£1.2bn)
* Dairy products (£778.7mn)
* Fish and Seafood (£357.8mn)
* Sugar and Honey worth (£245.4mn)

## Fisheries

As of 2021 the total value of freshwater fisheries in England is £1.7bn.
In 2019 the most caught salt water fish and crustacean by English trawlers were:
* North East Atlantic Mackerel (15,209tns) (17%)
* North Sea Herring (9,925tns)(19%)
* North Sea Haddock (3,847tns)(20%)
* North Sea Cod (2,135tns)(36%)
* North Sea Whiting (2,186tns)(24%)
* Southern Sea Crab (8,014tns)
* North East Atlantic Blue Whiting (3,810tns)(3%)
* West of Scotland Nephrops (8,025tns)(8%)
* North Sea Anglerfish (1,170tns)(20%)
* Eastern English Channel Scallops (959tns)

## Agriculture

As of 2023 the total value of Agricultural in England is £1.8bn.
This covers a variety of Areas including:
* Cereals
* Vegetables
* Livestock

## Alcoholic beverages
### English Wine

In 2018 England sold 550,000 bottles of English to 50 countries worldwide, this is up from 256,000 in 2018.
In 2022 the total value of English wine exports was £9.6 million ($11.8 million) with 800,000 bottles sold.
Some major English Wine brands include: Ridgeview Bloomsbury, Bolney Wine Estate, Lyme Bay, Aldwick Court Farm, Hattingley Valley, Lyme Block, Chapel Down, Brightwell Vineyard, and Stopham Estate.

### English Whisky

As of 2023 there are currently 38,000 casks of English whisky maturing with an estimated 50,000 casks expected to be laid down by 2024, the estimated value of the maturing whisky stock is £1bn.
Some major English Whisky brands include: English Whisky Co, Cotswolds, The Lakes, Bimber, The Oxford Artisan, and Dartmoor.

## Hot beverages and spices

The total value of coffee, tea, cocoa and Yorkshire and spices in Yorkshire and the Humber as of 2019 is £1.2bn.

## Geographical indications
### Active geographic indicators

As of 2024 there are currently 36 active geographical indications for England: 14 cheese, 9 alcoholic drinks, 4 seafood, 6 meat, 1 dairy and 2 Fruit and vegetable products.
| Name | Category |
| 1. Beacon Fell traditional Lancashire cheese 2. Bonchester cheese 3. Buxton Blue 4. Dorset Blue Cheese 5. Dovedale cheese 6. Exmoor Blue Cheese 7. Staffordshire Cheese 8. Swaledale cheese 9. Swaledale ewes' cheese 10. Teviotdale cheese 11. West Country farmhouse Cheddar Cheese 12. White Stilton cheese / Blue Stilton cheese 13. Yorkshire Wensleydale 14. Single Gloucester | Cheese |
| 15. English Wine 16. English Regional Wine 17. Gloucestershire cider / perry 18. Herefordshire cider / perry 19. Kentish ale and Kentish strong ale 20. Rutland Bitter 21. Somerset Cider Brandy 22. Sussex Wine 23.Worcestershire cider / perry | Alcohol |
| 24. Cornish Sardines 25. London Cure Smoked Salmon 26. Traditional Grimsby Smoked Fish 27. Whitstable oysters | Seafood |
| 28. Cornish Pasty 29. Melton Mowbray Pork Pie 30. Newmarket sausage 31. Traditional Cumberland Sausage 32. West Country Beef 33. West Country Lamb | Meat |
| 34. Cornish Clotted Cream | Dairy |
| 35. Vale of Evesham Asparagus 36. Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb | Fruit and Vegetables |

### Geographical indicators under consideration

As of 2024 there is currently 1 product under consideration for a geographical indication.
* English whisky