Heathrow’s Export Café is Open for Business
Heathrow is treating delegates at this year’s Multimodal cargo conference with samples of the most popular British food items exported from the airport. With its first mobile “Export Café,” Heathrow is highlighting the role it plays as the country’s biggest port by value, supporting the international growth of SME’s up and down the country.
The menu of food exports in the Heathrow Export Café will vary each day of the conference. On the first day delegates will be treated to Cornwall’s Tregothnan Tea and Scones with Wales’ own Radnor Preserves jam. Tregothnan tea will be served again the second day, this time with the ever-popular Walker’s Shortbread biscuits. Smoked salmon from Scotland’s Marine Harvest and drinks from Northern Ireland’s Ruby Blue will feature on the final day’s menu.
To celebrate the choices on the menu, Heathrow has revealed new cargo data showing the volume and top destinations these food exports flew to over 2017. This data shows that, out of the menu items, salmon is by far the most popular export – and is actually the most popular export out of Heathrow by weight overall, with more by than 42 million kilograms of it passing through Heathrow in 2017 – 62% of which is destined for American customers. Hong Kong is the most popular destination for UK jams and biscuits and surprisingly, British tea is most in demand in a nation known for its own domestic tea – Japan.
The full breakdown of weights and destinations of these exports, according to full 2017 cargo data, is set out below:
| Export | Volume in 2017 | Top 5 destinations [in order and with % share] |
| Tea | 179,050 kg | Japan (21%), Hong Kong (11%), South Korea (10%), Canada (10%), Taiwan (7%) |
| Jams | 115, 979 kg | Hong Kong (61%), US (14%), Japan (5%), Australia (4%), Singapore (3%) |
| Sweet Biscuits | 409,660 kg | Hong Kong (32%), US (12%), Singapore (11%), Australia (7%), Canada (6%) |
| Salmon | 41, 335, 695 kg | US (62%), China (22%), Taiwan (6%), Canada (3%), Lebanon (2%) |
In a speech to delegates tomorrow, Nick Platts, Heathrow’s Head of Cargo, will outline the airport’s future cargo plans – including an ambition to double cargo capacity with the airport’s expansion, increase cargo long-haul destinations, and improve the sustainability of the freight community around the airport through load consolidation and the removal of empty lorry vehicles in and around the airport.
Speaking from Multimodal, Nick Platts, Heathrow Head of Cargo 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. 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.”
Joanna Morgan, Director, Radnor Preserves, said: “Our business relies on air freight to get our hand-made preserves from Wales to destinations all over the world quickly and safely. Last year, our exports through Heathrow increased and we are looking to grow this even more this year. Connections through Heathrow are hugely important for businesses like mine.”
Georgina Wright, Head of Sales at Marine Harvest Scotland said: “We rely on air freight to deliver our salmon and seafood products to long-haul destinations quickly and effectively and we are proud to partner up with Heathrow, our port of choice, to celebrate the value their connectivity provides for us.”
