British food and drink exports to the EU have collapsed by more than a third since Brexit, with sugar and egg producers taking the hardest hits. New figures show a sharp decline in trade volumes compared to pre-Brexit levels, signaling deepening economic friction between London and Brussels.
The EU remains the UK’s largest trading partner for agri-food products, accounting for 68% of exports last year. Yet, the relationship has deteriorated significantly since the UK formally left the bloc in 2020. The drop isn’t just a statistical blip; it represents a structural shift that is squeezing margins for farmers and processors across the country.
Sugar and eggs take the biggest fall
An analysis by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) of HMRC data paints a grim picture. In the year to July, sugar exports plummeted by 70%. Egg products, including those used in confectionery and baking, saw a 65% drop in the first seven months of the year. Poultry exports were also battered, falling by 53%. When looking at full-year data from 2019 to 2025, the damage is even more severe, with egg product exports down by a staggering 74%.
Tom Bradshaw, President of the NFU, highlighted the scale of the loss. “The EU is our largest trading partner for agri-food products, accounting for 68% of agri-food exports last year, but trade volumes have fallen over a third since 2019,” he said. The numbers suggest that the initial fears of trade disruption were not just hypothetical but have become a harsh reality for the sector.
Red tape and rejected produce
Exporters have long complained about the bureaucratic burden introduced post-Brexit. Every food export now requires specific customs paperwork, with unique codes for each product variation. It’s not just the eggs; even the paper pulp in egg cartons needs health certification to prove they are disease-free. This granular level of documentation has slowed down supply chains and increased costs for businesses.
The horticultural sector has faced outright bans. Seed potatoes from Scotland, a key export, are barred from the EU because negotiators failed to agree on equivalent standards in the 2020 trade deal. Pre-Brexit, Scotland exported around 20,000 tonnes of seed potatoes, worth nearly £11m, to Europe. Now, those routes are closed. Andy Burnham told MPs that “entire truckloads of plants or fresh product can be destroyed because of a single missing stamp or minor paperwork delay.”
Salmon and the cost of checks
Scottish salmon, the UK’s largest food export, faces a 100% rate of document checks at the border. Burnham estimates this costs the industry around £100m in lost exports annually. British burgers and other fresh meats are also excluded from the EU market, while Welsh shellfish faces similar restrictions. The cumulative effect is a significant drain on rural economies that rely on these cross-border sales.
While a deal to ease sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks was largely agreed in May, key details remain unresolved. Producers are waiting for changes expected next summer, but the NFU is pushing for “transition arrangements” for crops grown with fungicides or breeding techniques not yet approved in the EU. Bradshaw argued that farmers must retain access to precision breeding technologies to strengthen food resilience against extreme weather. The final agreement is still pending, leaving many businesses in limbo as they prepare for the coming harvest.
Source: Guardian World
This article was compiled by the IndiaBBCNews editorial system from verified international news sources. Facts have been independently reviewed. Original reporting: Guardian World.
