Revealed as part of the FDF’s latest ‘Trade Snapshot’ report, the UK’s food and drink exports are experiencing a worrying downturn, falling by 8.9% year on year in volume terms.
In Q1 2026, food and drink exports fell by 4.8% to £5.7 billion, marking the lowest export volume seen in the past decade, excluding the height of the pandemic, and the third lowest since 2000.
Conversely, imports grew by 2.6% in Q1 to £16.3 billion, widening the gap between the UK’s food and drink exports and imports.
Non-EU trade drives export decline
The decline in UK exports was driven primarily by a fall in non-EU trade, says the FDF, with this segment falling by 11.5% year on year.
Notably, UK exports to the US fell by over a quarter (27.9%) in value terms, showing the impact of the additional tariffs imposed by the US in April 2025.
In contrast, US imports into the UK rose by 11.5% to £419.5 million, meaning the UK’s food and drink export surplus with the US has fallen by 69.3%, from £359 million to £110 million in Q1 2026, its lowest level since Brexit.
Proposed tariff suspensions announced by the UK government this year could make it cheaper for US businesses to export products such as chocolate, biscuits, jams and spreads to the UK, while British manufacturers face higher costs sending products to the US.
Exports were also down in markets where the UK has recently signed trade deals, with exports to Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) members falling by 11.3%, and exports to India falling by 16.6% in volume terms.
Industry warning over competitiveness
Sounding the alarm, the FDF warns that with exports falling, imports rising as global competitors gain ground, and production costs in the UK remaining high, the data suggests British food and drink manufacturers are struggling to keep pace with global competition at home and abroad.
A sector under pressure domestically cannot fully capitalise on global opportunities, posing a growing threat to the UK’s long-term food and drink resilience.
In response, the federation is calling on the government to “protect the nation’s food security and the status of iconic British brands, by creating the right conditions for UK food and drink businesses to remain competitive.”
Karen Betts, chief executive of the FDF, said: “Food and drink businesses are part of the fabric of every community in the UK, and it’s concerning to see them struggling to compete overseas,”
“The UK produces world-class food and drink, drawing on our heritage and our reputation for innovation, but we have to be able to remain competitive overseas against local products. The costs of producing food and drink in the UK are higher than in many competitor economies, from energy to employment, and constantly changing regulation only adds to these.”
She continued: “There is plenty government can do to improve the competitiveness of our food and drink exporters, many of which are SMEs, from helping companies to access the benefits of trade deals to lowering the cost of doing business in the UK.
“The government’s current proposals to remove tariffs on imported food risk making a bad situation worse. It is very undermining of UK businesses and of the people they employ, and it undermines the UK’s food security in the longer term. Government should suspend tariffs on ingredients rather than manufactured products, to lower the cost of producing food here in the UK and to help businesses keep prices down for consumers.”
