The gap between Britain’s food and drink exports and imports has neared its highest this century, as a combination of Brexit, war in the Middle East and US tariffs dented deliveries overseas while imports soared.
The UK’s food and drink trade deficit has risen to more than £۲۱bn – the largest since ۲۰۰۰ – in what industry leaders said was a “wake-up call” for the government to protect homegrown produce in the interest of national security.
UK food and drink export volumes fell by more than a tenth (۱۱.۷%) in the first half of ۲۰۲۶ to ۴bn kg, only marginally above levels at the height of the Covid pandemic and in the aftermath of the ۲۰۰۱ foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, according to analysis by the Food & Drink Federation (FDF).
Exports to the EU continued to fall – down ۰.۹% in value – amid the additional costs and complexity of trading since Brexit.
The FDF recorded an even larger fall in exports beyond the EU – down ۶.۹% in value terms. That was partly driven by disruption in sales to the Middle East, with exports to the UAE down by almost a quarter as a result of the US-Israel war on Iran. The US’s introduction of a ۱۰% import tariff hit cross-Atlantic sales by ۱۶.۵%.
Food and drink imports were ۱۹.۱bn kg in the first half of this year, the second highest ever, only beaten by the same period last year. Imports from outside the EU are up more than a fifth since ۲۰۲۳ as restrictions have been eased through trade deals, particularly with Australia which now sends ۲۵% more in value terms to the UK than a year ago including meat, oils, vegetables and even whisky.
The suspension of tariffs on a range of manufactured foods, including chocolate and biscuits, this year as part of the former chancellor Rachel Reeves’s package to ease the cost of living has also raised import levels. In addition, EU food producers increased deliveries to the UK in value terms – up ۰.۸% year-on-year – having recovered in volume terms since Brexit.
Tom Bradshaw, the president of the National Farmers’ Union of England and Wales, said: “These figures should be a wake-up call. At a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty, we cannot afford to take our food production capacity for granted.”
He said the widening trade deficit underlined the need for a long-term plan to support British production and recognise “a simple truth that food security is national security”.
“The pressures facing farm businesses are immense, from rising costs and regulatory burdens to extreme weather and global market volatility,” said Bradshaw. “If government is serious about food security, economic growth and national resilience, it must create the conditions that give businesses the confidence to invest, innovate and grow.”
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The FDF, which represents hundreds of food and beverage producers, said pressures on manufacturers were “significant and growing” as the cost of energy, ingredients, transport, packaging and labour continued to rise. It said changing regulation also added to pressures on the industry.
Karen Betts, the chief executive of the trade body, said: “Our food and drink trade deficit is growing and is now the largest it’s been in over ۲۵ years. In a world beset by conflict and the ever-increasing impacts of climate change, this poses some stark questions about our food security.
“When the government then chooses to remove tariffs on, for example, biscuits imported from China, it’s not surprising that they’ll be sold more cheaply here than biscuits made in the UK.”
