United Kingdom (UK) exports of products food and drink products to the European Union (EU) has plunged by more than 90 per cent with the effect already being felt by Britain’s Food and Drink Federation.

The federation has released data showing the extent of the plunge in food and drink products during the first quarter compared to the figures for the corresponding period last year. The numbers were compiled by the Food and Drink Federation based on tax data.

In what the trade group said was a “disaster” for the industry, the overall food and drink shipments to the EU in the period were down 2 billion pounds ($2.7 billion) from the corresponding three months in 2019 based on the numbers tabulated.

In a statement today (June 19), Dominic Goudie, the head of international trade at the Food and Drink Federation remarked that the numbers are “a very clear indication of the scale of losses that UK manufacturers face in the longer-term due to new trade barriers with the EU.”  He argued that the UK’s increased cost of trading with the EU and significant customs delays since Brexit are driving the downturn.

Fish export tumbled by more than 50%

The data from UK tax officials show first-quarter exports of fish fell by more than half and whisky slumped by almost a third compared with the same period in 2019. The sales of British cheeses such as Westcombe cheddar collapsed 72 per cent from 151 million pounds in the first quarter of that year to 42.8 million pounds in the corresponding period for 2021.

Sales of chocolate fell from 157.3 million pounds to 99.3 million pounds over the same time-frame. Exports performed better outside EU markets, clawing back to pre-pandemic levels for countries such as China, Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea.