As the Great British Bake Off returns to television screens for the eighth series, new trade figures show British exports of baked goods have risen to the highest level on record. In a boost to Liam Fox’s International Trade department, British exporters were shown to be selling more bread, cakes, pastries and biscuits than ever before. Since the first Bake Off episode in 2010, British sales of baked goods to the rest of the world rose by 25 per cent from £657 million to £821 million and the UK has a trade surplus with non EU countries on flours and grains, yeast, cocoa powder and baked goods. International Trade Minister, Mark Garnier said: “Britain is already a great trading nation and we are home to many of the world’s best businesses and brands. “Now with baking fever once again sweeping the nation, it’s clear that global appetite for British goods and services is greater than ever. “As an international economic department, we give exporters access to millions of pounds’ worth of potential overseas business and help match our suppliers to the world-wide demand”. UK firm Speciality Breads plans to grow to £20 million by 2022 Margate based Speciality Breads received their first export order to Malta with the help of the Department for International Trade after attending a trade show in Ashford. The company are turning over just under £7 million but plan to grow their business to £20 million by 2022. Some of the biggest buyers outside of the European Union include Canada, Saudi Arabia and Australia according to HMRC statistics. Last year Britain exported £45 million worth of baked goods to the United States, £45 million to Australia and £25 million to Canada. Both the US and Australia have signalled support for a trade deal with the UK with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull saying Australia wants a deal ‘as quickly as possible’ and US President Donald Trump calling for a ‘big and exciting’ deal. The new statistics emerged during the third round of Brexit talks in which EU negotiators have yet to produce a recipe for cross-border trade between Ireland and the UK. The EU team insist on discussing the Irish border before trade talks begin, but their failure to produce a position paper risks their approach looking half-baked.