UK exports more than £300 million worth of holiday goods

Latest Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) statistics show the UK exported more than £302 million worth of holiday goods (2016), including £160 million worth of sunglasses, £93 million worth of swimwear and £16 million worth of ice-cream. UK flip flops are also a big summer hit, with £8 million worth exported around the world.

The Department of International Trade (DIT) helped to secure billions of pounds in export opportunities over the past year, setting up 11 trade working groups across 16 countries to strike trade deals and strengthen commercial ties with key trading partners. Now the International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox is encouraging other UK businesses to seize the exciting opportunities posed by trade with the rest of the world after Brexit.

International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox said: “From ice-cream to swimwear, you can find UK holiday exports in travel destinations around the world. Last year alone, more than £300 million worth of these goods have been sold to shoppers across the globe showing increasing demand for home-grown Summer essentials.

“As an international economic department, we are supporting British business to take advantage of the growing global markets after we leave the EU and design a trade relationship in Britain’s national interest. There has never been a better time for our dynamic and innovative businesses to export their goods and services abroad”.

Overall latest trade statistics show that UK exports of goods and services have increased - exports stand at £547.6 billion, up 5.8% on 2015. The UK also attracted more foreign direct investment projects than ever before (year 2016-17). With more than 2,200 projects recorded, the post-referendum figures show an increase of two percent on the previous year.

Global markets

In regards to trade, the European Commission states that 90% of global growth in the next 20 years will be outside the EU. In promising news for trade deals, outside the EU some of the biggest markets for holiday exports include South Korea, Australia, UAE, Hong Kong and the USA. Sunglasses remain one of the top holiday exports, with £3.8 million worth sold to Hong Kong, £4.6 million worth of UK swimwear to the USA and more than £1.4 million worth of flip-flops sold to non-EU countries.

Card games are another must-have holiday item and £3.7 million of UK playing cards exported to non-EU countries last year, with £2.1 million heading to Australia. Holidaymakers across the world are also keeping cool with British ice-cream with £1.3 million heading to non-EU countries.

Through great.gov.uk, the Government gives UK businesses access to millions of pounds’ worth of potential overseas business, helping them start or increase exporting with a ‘matching service’ for global buyers and lists thousands of export opportunities at a click of a mouse. DIT has also doubled UK Export Finance’s risk appetite to £5billion, to ensure no viable export deal fails due to lack of finance and insurance.

Òkun - Exporting African print inspired beachwear

An example of this success story is Òkun - an award-winning African print inspired beachwear brand.

Launched in London in 2013 by British/Nigerian Creative Director - Bola Marquis, Òkun has a growing fanbase in the UK, Japan, France, Italy Nigeria, and the US.

Bola Marquis was born in Senegal but grew up between Nigeria and the UK before settling in London for a degree in Chemistry and Management Studies from Imperial College, London. He turned his hand to designing swimwear and in just two seasons they have grown from 1 export country Japan to 12.

Prior to his recent creative exploration, Bola was a  Global IT Programme Manager for multinational Plcs responsible for leading teams to deliver financial systems worldwide.

Stockists of Okun include Browns, Matches, Fenwick of Bond St and Galeries Lafayette Paris. The vibrant shorts can also be found at exclusive hotels, resorts and beach locations such as Goldeneye Jamaica, Constance Hotels Mauritius & Seychelles, Jackie’O Mykonos and Los Enamorados in Ibiza.

The brand sources its premium fabrics in Europe and takes its inspiration from cultures across the continent, from South African Shwe Shwe fabrics, Ghanaian Adinkra symbols, Kenyan Kikoy stripes or the more popular “African Print”.  All prints are designed in-house, with collections produced in Mauritius since 2015, the brand has recently gone into partnership with a factory in Ghana to set up its ethical production base in West Africa.

* Further information is available at: http://www.okunbeachwear.com/