The value of food, feed and drink exports from the UK was £20.1bn in 2016, whilst imports to the UK stood at £42.6bn. This gave a trade deficit of £22.5bn in 2016. The value of both imports and exports has been rising in real terms over the long-term, and the trade gap has also been widening over the long term.
The highest value of imports to the UK was fresh or prepared fruit and vegetables (£10.3bn). The highest value of UK exports within food, feed and drink in 2016, was alcoholic beverages at £6.8bn, £4.1bn of which comes from whisky. This makes whisky the highest valued individual commodity exported by the UK. At present, EU regulations impose much higher standards on whisky than those in the US, meaning that cheaper products from the US which have been aged less than 3 years cannot be branded as whisky in the UK.
In 2016, the highest proportion of UK food, feed and drink exports went to countries in the EU (60%), with ROI the top-ranking destination (£3.3bn). The top non-EU destination for exports, and second country overall after ROI, was the USA (£2.1bn). Most of these exports were highly processed (60%), only around 10% were unprocessed.
The highest proportion of UK imports by value were also from the EU (70%), the top-ranking source country being the Netherlands with £5.1bn. The top non-EU country from which food, feed and drink items were imported into the UK, and 10th country overall after various EU countries, was the USA (£1.3bn). Of these imports, 40% were lightly processed, and around 35% were highly processed.
Event
24th November 2021
Online
Frontier Economics and Trade Knowledge Exchange are delighted to invite you to a virtual panel discussion on the role of trade policy in addressing climate change. This event is timed to fall between the COP-26 summit on climate change in Glasgow and the 12th Ministerial Conference of the WTO to be held in Geneva. We […]
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13 June 2019
London, UK
The UK’s approach to agriculture and trade is set to change after Brexit. The Agriculture Bill currently before parliament looks set to overhaul a number of aspects of policy. We look at some of the key policy and commercial issues.
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Introduction The Agriculture Bill is part of the Government’s Brexit preparation. As the UK leaves the EU, British farmers will no longer be able to receive EU subsidies and will not have to comply with a number of regulations. However, it is likely that they will require financial support. The Bill brings together agriculture and […]
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Guest author for the TKE and agricultural trade expert Chris Horseman writes about bananas and Brexit. This article contemplates what the UK might do about its external trade regime after Brexit, and uses the example of bananas to illustrate some of the challenges.
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Consumers face many challenges post-Brexit. This briefing paper addresses issues of trade policy and consumer interests.
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Tariff changes, devaluation of the pound, and adjustment periods are all likely to impact British and global wine markets following Brexit. Kym Anderson and Glyn Wittwer from UKTPO discuss.
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As the UK and EU27 prepare to define the terms of their future trade relationship, Alan Swinbank, associate of TKE partner ICTSD, raises some critical questions regarding post-Brexit agricultural trade.
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