UK food and drink exports to EU collapse by more than a third since Brexit

British food and drink exports to the European Union have fallen by more than a third since Brexit, according to new analysis of HMRC data by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU). The figures, comparing the year to July with the same period in 2019, show a dramatic decline across several key sectors, with sugar exports down 70%, poultry down 53%, and eggs and egg products down 65%. Over the full period from 2019 to 2025, egg and egg product exports have fallen by 74%.

The EU remains the UK’s largest trading partner for agri-food products, accounting for 68% of all such exports last year. However, trade volumes have fallen by over a third since 2019, according to NFU president Tom Bradshaw. He said: “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.”

Border checks and paperwork burden

Since the UK formally left the EU and signed the trade and security deal late in 2020, all food exports have required customs paperwork with different codes for every product. These codes cover every variation of egg product: fresh, dried, steamed, shelled, with added water or sugar. Additionally, paper pulp in egg cartons and eggs themselves need health certification showing they are disease-free.

The impact has been severe for horticultural exports, which have fallen by more than 50%. Seed potatoes from Britain, mainly Scotland, have been banned from the EU after negotiators failed to agree equivalent standards in the 2020 trade agreement. Before Brexit, Scotland exported around 20,000 tonnes of seed potatoes worth almost £11 million to Europe each year.

Calls for a new agreement

Andy Burnham, speaking in parliament, highlighted the challenges faced by exporters, saying that “entire truckloads of plants or fresh product can be destroyed because of a single missing stamp or minor paperwork delay”. He hopes to “land a positive outcome” in the upcoming UK-EU reset talks and is seeking a new agreement to remove many post-Brexit sanitary and phytosanitary checks on fresh farm produce exports. Burnham also noted that Scottish salmon, the UK’s largest food export, faces a 100% rate of document checks at the border, costing around £100 million in lost exports. He added that British burgers and other fresh meat products cannot be sold in the EU, and that seed potatoes from Scotland and shellfish from Wales are banned.

Transition arrangements needed

A deal to ease sanitary and phytosanitary checks was largely agreed in May, with changes expected next summer, but key details remain unfinalised. The NFU is calling for “transition arrangements” for UK crops grown with fungicides or breeding techniques not yet EU-approved, to allow autumn and winter harvests to use new export freedoms next year. Bradshaw stressed the importance of maintaining access to modern farming methods, saying: “British farmers and growers must retain access to precision breeding technologies that will help to strengthen food resilience to extreme weather and to science-based plant protection products that help protect food being grown for 29m households from pests and diseases.” He added that any changes must provide an appropriate transition period to minimise disruption for farm businesses.