Full Breakdown
British Food and Drink Exports to the EU Plunge Since Brexit
By Drooid · · How we work
Sharp Decline in Export Volumes
Analysis of HMRC data by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) shows that British food and drink shipments to the European Union have fallen by more than one-third since the United Kingdom left the EU. The drop is most severe for sugar, which is down about 70%, and for poultry, which fell 53% in the first seven months of the most recent year-to-July period. Egg and egg-product exports to confectionery and baking sectors are down 65%, and full-year figures from 2019 to 2025 reveal a 74% reduction in those categories.
Context of Trade Barriers
The decline follows the 2020 trade-and-security agreement that succeeded the UK’s formal exit. Since then, every food item requires separate customs paperwork and health certification, creating a “paper-heavy” system that exporters say can halt an entire truckload for a missing stamp. Horticultural products have been especially hard hit; seed potatoes from Scotland were barred after negotiators failed to align standards, eliminating more than half of that export segment.
Quantitative Impact
- EU accounts for 68% of UK agri-food exports.
- Sugar exports down 70%; poultry down 53%; eggs/egg products down 65% (seven-month snapshot).
- Seed-potato shipments from Scotland, previously around 20,000 tonnes worth £11 million annually, have been halted.
- Economists estimate the cumulative cost to the UK economy at up to £240 billion.
Industry and Government Reactions
NFU president Tom Bradshaw stresses that the EU remains the largest market for British agri-food and urges the government to secure “transition arrangements” for crops grown with techniques not yet approved in the EU.
Prospects for a New Trade Arrangement
Negotiators are preparing for a “UK-EU reset” that aims to lift many of the current checks on fresh farm produce. A provisional SPS-relief deal was largely agreed in May, giving producers time to adapt before changes expected next summer. The NFU is lobbying for a transition period that would allow autumn and winter harvests to benefit from the anticipated freedoms, while Burnham hopes the forthcoming talks will reverse the export losses.