Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of food consumed in the UK was produced in the UK in (a) 2021 and (b) 1987.

The ratio of food we produce in the UK compared to our food supply need remains high against historical levels. This ratio temporarily increased after World War 2 as production subsidies and intervention schemes drove over-production, and it stood at 74% in 1987. In addition to the end of such schemes, other things have happened since including changing consumer choices which has increased demand for a wider range of food, some of which we cannot produce in the UK for all or part of the year. For example, UK consumers currently consume significantly more rice than they did in 1987, all of which must be imported.

The most recent figures for 2020 (published in 2021) show we produced 60% of our food supply need but 74% of food that we can produce for all or part of the year. These figures have remained steady throughout this century. We are almost 100% self-sufficient in poultry, carrots and swedes. Sectors like soft fruit have seen a trend towards greater self-sufficiency with an extended UK season displacing imports.