UK food and drink exports to the EU plummet in first quarter
FOOD and drink exports to the European Union have plummeted in the first quarter of this year amid Brexit and the pandemic.
Analysis by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) revealed sales from the UK to the EU dropped by 47 per cent in the first three months of 2021, compared to the same period last year.
This represents a loss of £2 billion compared to quarter one in 2019.
The FDF said the fall was due to the ongoing impacts of Covid and changes in the UK’S trading relationships.
The SNP said fishing communities, farmers and businesses across Scotland are losing millions of pounds in trade.
According to the FDF, exports of fish (- 51.7%), whisky (-32.3%), lamb (- 14.3%), and cheese ( - 71.7%) fell significantly from 2019 to 2021.
Dominic Goudie, head of international trade at the FDF, said: “The loss of £2 billion of exports to the EU is a disaster for our industry, and is a very clear indication of the scale of losses that UK manufacturers face in the longerterm due to new trade barriers with the EU.
“We set out a plan to mitigate these impacts by boosting support for exporters, and this was backed by the Trade and Agriculture Commission.
“The Government must stop prevaricating and get behind these proposals to help exporters that have been shut out of trading with the EU.”
John Whitehead, of the Food and Drink Exporters Association (FDEA), said: “Whilst some of this large drop can be put down to end of year stockpiling, significant business has been lost as a direct result of the additional bureaucracy, customs delays and costs of trading with the EU.
“Experienced FDEA members are continuing to battle against inconsistent interpretations of regulations across the EU and having to weigh up whether the time and cost involved is sustainable.”
Exports to nearly all EU members have fallen significantly, the FDF said.
Sales to Ireland were down by more than two thirds compared to the same period last year, while sales to Germany, Spain and Italy declined by more than half.
Drew Hendry, the SNP’S international trade spokesman, said: “It is increasingly clear that independence is the only way to keep Scotland safe from the longterm damage of Boris Johnson’s hard Tory Brexit deal, which has been disastrous. Brexit has already cost Scotland billions of pounds – and analysis shows it will continue to hit our economy, cutting Scotland’s GDP by up to
£9bn by 2030, compared to EU membership.
“Our food and drink industry has already suffered – with fishing communities, farmers, and businesses across Scotland losing millions of pounds in trade.
“Once the Covid crisis is over, it is essential that people in Scotland have the right to determine their own future in a post-pandemic independence referendum, so we can regain the benefits of EU membership and build a strong, fair and equal recovery that meets Scotland’s needs.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael said the “shocking figures” underlined his party’s view that “the
Conservatives’ ideological hard Brexit is devastating our food and drink exports”.
He said: “These hard statistics tell a sorry tale – not of ‘teething problems’ but of structural and systemic damage to local businesses.
“Even if some of the damage in recent months is recovered with time, we will continue to suffer a competitive disadvantage as long as these barriers are in place.
“A drop of almost half our exports is hard to fathom.”
The UK Government told the BBC it was “too early to draw any firm conclusions” on the long-term impact of Brexit, while the pandemic had also had an effect.
A spokesman added: “The most recent ONS trade statistics show that for both March and April, overall exports to the EU have exceeded the average levels across 2020.”