Exports of UK food have continued to see a significant and persistent drop, new figures show, largely due to new barriers of trade with the EU and the pandemic.
Exports of food and drink are down £2.7bn (-15.9%) in the first three quarters of 2021 compared to pre-pandemic levels, Food and Drink Federation (FDF) figures show.
This substantial drop is largely due to a decline in sales to the European Union, accounting for a £2.4 billion (-23.7%) loss.
Exports to core markets including Germany (-44.5%), Italy (-43.3%) and Spain (-50.6%) have been particularly badly hit since 2019.
Elsewhere, UK exports to Ireland – the food sector's biggest overseas market – are down more than a quarter since 2019, a loss of nearly £0.75bn in sales.
Major products, including beef (-18.4%), cheese (-13.2%) and pork (-5.7%) have continued to decline, with the exception of soft drinks which grew 11% from 2020.
More positive news can be seen in non-EU markets, with exports up 11%, driven by a return to strong growth in China (+22.1%), Taiwan (+21.8%), the UAE (+18.3%), Japan (+10.6%) and Singapore (+5.4%).
Imports have been badly impacted since 2019, with sales from the EU down nearly 11% in the nine months to September compared to pre-Covid levels.
This was a fall of more than £2.5bn. Imports from the Netherlands (-19%), Ireland (-20.1%) and Germany (-33.1%) were most severely hit over the last two years.
With the UK due to implement its delayed import controls on products arriving from the EU in 2022, the FDF warns it will further impact the cost and availability of supplies of food from the EU, including essential ingredients and raw materials required by UK manufacturers.
Dominic Goudie, head of international trade at the FDF said: “It is extremely disappointing to see how badly our trade with the EU has been affected, with our smallest exporters hardest hit.
"It is essential that the government works constructively with the EU to improve the implementation of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement to ensure that it works for small businesses, otherwise this downturn will be here to stay."
John Whitehead, Food & Drink Exporters Association (FDEA), said it was 'encouraging' to see meat sales increase to Asian countries, where there is a big demand for pork.
“Our In Market Associates in both ASEAN and GCC markets report that there is also strong demand for added value products from the UK."
However, he said small firms were struggling: "It is the SME producers of value-added products hit hard by both Brexit and the pandemic who continue to need support to take advantage of these opportunities.”
