Exports of food and drink products from the UK to the EU have fallen by a third since Brexit as the introduction of new checks has made life harder for exporters.
This is according to new research from the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), which found shipments to the bloc declined by 34.1 percent in 2024 compared to 2019 levels.
Meanwhile, total food and drink exports from the UK fell by an average of almost a fifth between 2020 and 2024 compared with the period from 2015 to 2019.
Although the study said a range of disruptions, including COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, can account for some of the declines, it noted that other European countries, including the Netherlands, Germany and Italy, have seen their export volumes increase since 2020.
This indicates that it is the unique post-Brexit trading arrangements between the UK and EU that are having the biggest impact.
Balwinder Dhoot, director of industry growth and sustainability at the FDF, said: “These latest figures show the stark reality for the UK’s 12,500 food and drink businesses who are struggling to deal with the complexity and bureaucracy that comes when trading with Europe. Government must prioritise working with the EU, and our industry, to remove as many of these barriers as possible."
The FDF called for a strategic approach to trading with the EU. It said this should include updated sanitary regulations to remove some of the friction created by Brexit, as well as solutions to simplify paperwork and reduce border fees.
However, the report also highlighted the importance of other post-Brexit trade agreements in opening new markets for UK exporters. For example, it noted that a new free trade agreement with Australia has resulted in the value of exports to the country increasing by 9.1 per cent to £429.5 million.