The war in Ukraine is going to 'negatively impact' UK food and drink businesses’ trading ambitions, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has warned.
The FDF said the war was pushing up energy prices and impacting certain key ingredients, including vegetable oils, cereals and white fish.
In its new report, released today (18 March), the body warned that the Ukraine conflict would have ramifications for UK food exports "in the short term, with supply chains and trade routes disrupted".
The federation’s chief executive, Karen Betts said: “The war is likely to negatively impact our businesses’ trading ambitions.
"That underscores the need for business and government to work closely together, ensuring that companies can develop new markets and seize new opportunities in a difficult economic environment, to underpin their resilience.”
The FDF’s Trade Snapshot report also examined the latest developments in the UK’s exports and imports of food and drink in 2021.
Key findings include sales to non-EU countries growing over 8% compared to 2020, driven by a strong recovery in exports of whisky (+18.7%) and salmon (+20.6%).
Exports to East Asia are recovering faster than in most other regions, with exports to China of food and drink worth over £800m and close to overtaking imports.
The boom has been aided by a new UK-Japan trade agreement entering into force in 2021, the report explained.
However, sales to the EU fell by 12% compared to 2020, with much of the drop in the first quarter of 2021 when many UK firms paused movements and supplied customers with stockpiled goods.
The FDF’s research showed there were significant improvements towards the middle and end of the year.
