U.S. Tariffs, Weak EU Demand Drag UK Food Exports in First Quarter

US tariffs and weaker demand from the European Union combined to push UK food export volumes down by nearly 9% in the first quarter of the year, according to the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), Satarupa Bhowmik reported for Just Food.

Scottish Salmon is the UK's top food export.

The FDF said UK food export volumes fell 8.9% during the first three months of the year, marking the lowest first-quarter level in the past decade, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic period.

US tariffs introduced in April last year significantly affected UK exports to the United States. Export volumes to the US dropped nearly 46%, while sales fell 28% to £529.6 million (US$699.6 million).

Exports to the European Union also weakened, with shipment volumes declining 6.9%. Despite the lower volumes, the value of UK food exports to the EU remained broadly stable, slipping just 0.2% to £3.4 billion.

Among key European markets, export volumes to Ireland fell 6.3%, while shipments to France declined 5.8%.

The FDF said the planned sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement between the UK and the EU is expected to ease some of the trade barriers created by Brexit.

Overall, the value of UK food and drink exports fell 4.8% in the first quarter to £5.7 billion (US$7.5 billion), while imports increased 2.6% to £16.3 billion.

Meanwhile, US food and drink exports to the UK rose 11.5% to £419.5 million, reducing the UK's export surplus with the United States by 69.3% to £110 million—the smallest surplus recorded since Brexit, according to the FDF.