Every year, billions of pounds worth of various dairy exports are shipped from Great Britain, to countries all over the world. They often command a premium price due to their excellent reputation and quality.
Most common dairy exports
The most common products that are exported are:
- Milk
- Cheese
- Cream
- Yoghurt
- Whey powder
- Butter
- Ghee
- Ice cream
How can Amivet help me?
Are you looking for new ways to increase your turnover? Might exporting be for you? Want to know to which markets you can export?
Find out how Amivet can help – whether you are a first time exporter or have experience with dairy exports many times before, we can offer a tailored solution to make the process as easy as possible.
Export health certificates
In the vast majority of cases, to export dairy products from GB, you will require an export health certificate or “EHC”, signed by an official veterinarian, or OV. Following inspection of the goods and supporting documents such as evidence of supply chain, pasteurisation process, HACCP plan and results of any laboratory tests required, the OV will sign and stamp the EHC, which assures the importing country that the goods are as described and do not carry any risk of introducing any animal or human disease into that country.
Common Export/Import Considerations
While every country has its own import rules, there are some common factors that are worth bearing in mind:
- Do you need an import permit?
- Does any premises require specific approval for export?
- Are there any restrictions on amount or quota?
- What labelling requirements are there?
- Can the goods be shipped chilled, frozen or ambient?
- Is there an EHC for the type of product you wish to export?
- Are there any restrictions on the country of origin?
Many importing countries are concerned about introducing disease via imported dairy products, which can lead to restrictions such as:
- A complete ban
- A ban on imports from certain parts or regions of GB
- A limit on what types of proucts are allowed
- A requirement for pasteurisation/heat treatment
The major diseases of note are “foot and mouth disease”, “lumpy skin disease” and tuberculosis (TB). More details on these can be found at WOAH.
Some products also require a heat treatment such as pasteurisation, although some goods such as raw milk cheese can be exported in some cases.
Our OVs can cover most parts of GB, however we have a particularly strong team in the central Scotland belt, around the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Our export tool allows you to search by country for what specific EHCs are available. More detail about the certification process is given here.
