UK food & beverage companies see potential in China's e-commerce

China's hyperactive e-commerce market is not only attracting huge amounts of domestic business, but…

China's hyperactive e-commerce market is not only attracting huge amounts of domestic business, but it's also drawing foreign food and drink producers as well.

Last year, food imports from the UK increased 9% to over 2.5 billion yuan, which include cheese, chocolate and salmon. And now, China is the second largest market for UK food exports outside the European Union.

UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Elizabeth Truss said “the country wants to further bolster its food exports to China by increasing cooperation with e-retailers. We are really keen to do that (to collaborate with Chinese e-retailers). We think there are a lot of opportunities with Chinese online retailers. We think it's a massive opportunity in China and it's gonna be the biggest importer of food by 2018. We're very excited by online retail. It gives a real opportunity for some of our smaller craft companies to get their products out to market in China."

Although the booming Chinese online market presents opportunities for UK food and drink companies, some still believe they should take it slow and be focused.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister David Cameron has appointed Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's Jack Ma to advise him on how to boost exports from small and medium-sized British businesses to China through online platforms.