UK food and drink exports continue to slump as industry calls for removal of red tape and closer EU relations.
British food and drink exports fell 6.1% to £11.2bn in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period last year, according to Food & Drink Federation analysis of official government data.
Volumes of goods sold to the EU alone sunk by nearly a quarter (23.6%) on last year, prompting industry calls for less post-Brexit bureaucracy and stronger UK-EU trade relations.
Meanwhile, volumes sold to non-EU markets recorded a 0.8% increase.
More than half of all British food and drink exports (59.4%) are headed for the EU, with Ireland being the UK’s largest market within the bloc.
Value exports to the EU fell by 4.3% to £6.7bn between January and June, compared to £7bn in H1 last year.
Non-EU sales also saw a significant drop (8.5%), from £5bn in the same period last year to £4.5bn this year.
The decline in overall exports was largely driven by a fall in alcohol consumption, the FDF’s trade snapshot noted.
“The UK’s food and drink businesses make brands and products that consumers love, not just at home but across the world,” said Balwinder Dhoot, FDF’s director of industrial growth and sustainability.
“However, these figures show manufacturers are facing increasing bureaucratic barriers when exporting, particularly to the EU.
“There is a lot the government could do to build exporters’ confidence and support businesses to compete overseas and expand into new markets, including by removing bureaucratic trade barriers.”
Trade with the EU has become more challenging since the start of the year, when the second phase of border changes introduced in April raised the rates of physical checks on EU goods, as well as the fees paid by traders at the border.
Read more: First Brexit common user charge bills serve bitter shock to food industry
The FDF called on Labour to expedite a long-awaited veterinary agreement with Brussels, which would significantly reduce costly sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks at the border.
The trade body is also urging ministers to review the use of the common user charge, a fixed-rate fee applied to all goods entering the UK via the Port of Dover and the Eurotunnel – which many businesses have deemed crippling.
The CUC was introduced by the previous government as a way to help recoup the costs of setting up new border control facilities to process post-Brexit checks on EU goods. A review would help businesses “overcome regulatory burdens and boost trade”, the FDF said.
More than half (59%) of food and drink manufacturers said the UK’s relationship with the EU should be a top priority for the new government, according to the group’s research.
The trade data comes as a new study by Aston University showed the persistently “stifling” effects of the post-Brexit trade deal between the UK and EU had led to significant drops in both imports and exports,
Total UK exports to the bloc fell by 27% from 2021 – when the trade deal came into force – to 2023, while imports fell by 32%.
The agrifood sectors registered “the most significant adverse Brexit impact”, with exports of vegetable products (down 68.5%), edible fruit and nuts (down 65.3%), cereals (down 58.8%) and seeds and fruits (down 56.6%) particularly hard-hit.
The new Labour government has been seeking ways to reduce Brexit red tape in recent weeks – last week it scrapped plans to expand ‘not for EU’ labelling requirements, which currently apply in Northern Ireland only, to the whole of the UK over fears the costs to packaging would discourage British businesses from trading with the EU.
It also announced checks on medium-risk EU fruit & veg imported into the UK were delayed this week from 1 January to 1 July 2025, allowing businesses more time to liaise with their European suppliers and prepare for the changes.
And earlier this month, prime minister Keir Starmer also reiterated plans to “reset” relations with the bloc as he announced a new trade deal with Germany.
Beyond Europe, the government has also been pursuing deals with other countries – just last week, the Department for Business and Trade also signed a partnership pact with Thailand to boost exports to the Asian nation.
Exports to India – with whom the government is currently negotiating a major free trade agreement – in the first half of the year rose by 11.9%, reaching £127.2m, compared to the same period last year.
Trade ministers have also recently visited the Gulf region as they aim to bolster trade relations with several Middle East nations.
“An ambitious trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) could drive significant growth in trade, as we’ve seen under the UK-Australia FTA, where exports have increased by 7.1% to £196.7m,” the FDF report noted.
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