UK FOOD AND DRINK TRADE DEFICIT RISES AT £21BN -Food and drink export volumes fell by 11.7% in the first half of 2026
The UK’s food and drink trade deficit has risen to more than £21bn, reportedly the largest since 2000, in what industry leaders said was a “wake-up call” for the government to protect homegrown produce in the interest of national security.
The gap between Britain’s food and drink exports and imports has neared its highest this century, denting deliveries overseas while imports have soared.
UK food and drink export volumes fell by more than a tenth (11.7%) in the first half of 2026 to 4bn kg, only marginally above levels at the height of the Covid pandemic and in the aftermath of the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, according to analysis by the Food & Drink Federation (FDF).
Exports to the EU continued to fall down 0.9% in value, amid the additional costs and complexity of trading since Brexit. Food and drink imports were 19.1bn kg in the first half of this year, the second highest ever, only beaten by the same period last year. Imports from outside the EU are up more than a fifth since 2023 as restrictions have been eased through trade deals.
The president of the National Farmers’ Union of England and Wales, Tom Bradshaw, stated that the widening trade deficit underlined the need for a long-term plan to support British production and recognise “a simple truth that food security is national security”.
