Greek yoghurt became Greece’s leading export to the United Kingdom in the first eight months of 2026, with its value rising by 67.1%. According to data from the UK tax and customs authority, HMRC, exports were worth £152.57 million, putting the product in first place among Greek exports to the country.
The figures are included in the latest Economic and Business Developments Bulletin from the Office of Economic and Commercial Affairs at the Greek embassy in London, and confirm the strong presence of Greek dairy products in the British market.
Tubes of circular cross-section, of iron or steel, came second, with exports worth £107.94 million, up 7,804.1%. They were followed by processed petroleum oils, worth £94.61 million, up 268.1%, and insulated wire, coaxial cables and other insulated electric conductors, with exports of £91.88 million, an increase of 45.8%.
Medicaments in measured doses or retail packs ranked fifth, with exports worth £82.89 million, despite a 15.6% decline. Greek cheeses came sixth, with exports of £77.43 million, up 16.7%.
The top 10 was completed by copper tubes, worth £61.07 million; aluminium plates, sheets and strip, worth £44.13 million; meters for the supply or production of gas, liquids and electricity, worth £39.44 million; and vegetables prepared or preserved in vinegar or acetic acid, worth £33.16 million.
Total Greek exports rise 29%
The positive trend is not confined to dairy products. According to HMRC data, total Greek goods exports to the United Kingdom came to £1.32 billion in the period from January to August 2026, compared with £1.02 billion in the same period of 2025, an increase of 29%.
By contrast, British exports to Greece edged up 1.1% to £650.94 million, from £644.12 million in the first eight months of the previous year.
As a result, total bilateral trade reached £1.97 billion, up 18.2% on the same period of 2025. Meanwhile, Greece’s trade surplus widened by 76.9% to £665.12 million, from £376.03 million a year earlier.
Greece’s position among suppliers to the British market is also notable. Analysis of HMRC data by the Office of Economic and Commercial Affairs in London shows that Greece recorded the largest percentage increase in the value of UK imports among European Union member states in the eight-month period under review, with growth of 29.41%.
This performance lifted Greece to 44th place among the United Kingdom’s supplier countries, from 48th place in the corresponding period of 2025. Ireland followed, with an increase of 23.44%.
The value of total UK imports from the EU rose by 6.7%. However, the EU’s share of total British imports fell to 43.36%, from 46.45% in the same eight-month period of 2025. By contrast, imports from non-EU countries increased by 20.89%, taking their share to 56.64%.
Exports rise 30.1%, according to ELSTAT
Greek exports to the United Kingdom also continued to grow, according to provisional data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), as analysed by the Office of Economic and Commercial Affairs at the Greek embassy in London.
The data show that Greek exports to the United Kingdom were worth €1.686 billion in the first eight months of 2026, compared with €1.296 billion in the same period of 2025, an increase of 30.1%.
Greek imports from the United Kingdom came to €673.93 million, up 17.7% from €572.75 million a year earlier.
The bilateral trade balance showed a surplus for Greece of about €1.01 billion, up 39.9% on the same period of 2025, when it stood at €723.19 million. Meanwhile, total bilateral trade rose by 26.3% to €2.359 billion, from €1.869 billion in the first eight months of 2025.
ELSTAT’s data therefore confirm the growth in trade between Greece and the United Kingdom, with Greek exports increasing faster than imports.
Source: Athens-Macedonian News Agency