Food imports doubled

THE Farmers’ Union of Wales has launched a ‘five-point plan’ for UK governments which we believe should be implemented to tackle the impacts of the Ukraine war and other factors on farmers, food producers and consumers.

During the FUW’S pre-royal Welsh Show press conference, we highlighted that Russia’s war on Ukraine had exacerbated ongoing impacts caused by the pandemic and Brexit, causing major economic pressures for consumers and businesses and a global food emergency.

The UK’S reliance on other countries for food has almost doubled since the mid 1980s, with 40% of UK food now imported compared with around 22% in the mid 1980s.

During the same period, the UK’S reliance on imports of ‘indigenous type food’ that can be produced in the UK has increased five fold, from 5% to 25%.

We also highlighted the impact of fuel prices on consumers and businesses.

Despite being less reliant on Russia than other countries for fuel, our fuel prices are nevertheless amongst the highest in Europe.

Throughout the Royal Welsh show, the FUW highlighted policies in a five point plan that it believes the UK Government must implement in order to relieve pressures for farmers, food producers and consumers.

Countries across the EU have announced support packages worth hundreds of billions in order to support businesses suffering as a result of massive price rises and to bolster and boost food production.

In order to protect domestic production, UK governments must act now to place UK farmers on an equal footing with farmers in the EU who are receiving funding to make up for massive escalations in food production costs.