Tuesday 09 April 2019 12:05 am | Updated: Monday 03 June 2019 1:44 am

Nigeria and India the fastest growing markets for UK exports in 2018

Nigeria and India were the top two fastest growing export destinations for UK goods in 2018 as Britain developed its trade links to non-European nations, new analysis has shown.

UK exports to Nigeria grew by 27 per cent last year to £1.6bn, while those to India were up 24 per cent to £5.5bn, analysis of the latest official data by Santander Corporate and Commercial has shown.

However, the European Union remained by far the biggest market for UK exports in 2018, taking £167.9bn of British goods. The US was the biggest single importer, taking £55bn of UK goods, with Germany second, taking £36.1bn.

The analysis, which looks at the top 50 goods export markets, shows that the top 10 fastest-growing importers of UK goods were predominantly non-European. Alongside Nigeria and India, Thailand, up 19 per cent to £1.6bn), Taiwan, up 18 per cent to £1.4bn, and Canada, up 13 per cent to £6.1bn were all in the top 10.

John Carroll, head of international at Santander Corporate and Commercial, said: “It’s exciting to see British companies embracing new international trade opportunities, not just with established trading superpowers like the US, Germany and Japan but also in evolving markets such as India and Nigeria.”

Gautam Sehgal, India alliances director at Santander UK said: “India is a thriving market with a strong rate of economic growth. Its drive towards infrastructure expansion is well reflected in a 65 per cent rise in exports of electrical energy infrastructure from the UK in 2018 alone.”

A growing taste for luxury goods in India saw the UK export $900m (£690m) of gems and jewellery to the country in 2018, making it Britain's biggest export to India. The figure was up 300 per cent compared to 2017.