London (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – British Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner has admitted that UK food sales to Europe have declined by a fifth since 2018.
Daniel Zeichner stated that while the British current deal with the European Union permits tariff-free trade with the EU region, leaving the single market and customs union has “had implications on the export of agri-food products.” “Agri-food trade with the European Union has decreased since 2018 in real terms by 20 percent and 11 percent (imports),” he said.
The statistics mark a stunning fall and are particularly pressing as sales to the EU make up 57 percent of all UK food exports, surging to Britain’s most important market by far, worth £14bn in 2023. The Brexit hit is triggered by new demands for physical, documentary and ID checks, hindering food trade between the UK and Europe. Mr. Zeichner noted that “It is really difficult to pinpoint how much Brexit is to blame for the hardships that the country is going through at this point, with global catastrophes such as the pandemic of Covid-19 and new free trade deals signed with countries like New Zealand.”
What role does Brexit play in the trade decline?
Brexit describes the United Kingdom’s choice of leaving the EU. Brexit greatly and continually challenges the UK trading relationship with many changes. A research-based study from Aston University found that in the years 2021 to 2023, every year, there has been exportation of goods outside the EU experienced a drop with a negative gradient of 17% a year compared to No Brexit.
There are declines noticeable for 2023, and such declines point towards the view that the effects do not simply present short-term disturbances but reflect deeper, more profound shifts in structural aspects of trade relationships. In 2023, food, feed, and drink exports from the UK declined to a value of approximately £24.4 billion; this is down by 11% compared with the previous year. This is worrying because food exports to the EU account for about 57% of all UK food exports, valued at around £14 billion in 2023.
Since Brexit, it has been reported that the exportation of food from Britain to the EU has declined almost by 20% or even £3 billion annually. Finally, the estimates suggest that UK GDP since the Brexit vote in the year 2016 has fallen to 2% and 4%. The new trading relationship is likely to reduce Britain’s output by about 4% compared with what would have been the case had the UK not left the EU, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.
