UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement: Food

(asked on 24th June 2021) - View Source

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

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report by the Food and Drink Federation Trade Snapshot: Q1 2021, published on 18 June, what assessment they have made of whether the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement is connected to a 47 per cent reduction in UK food exports to the EU between Q1 2020 and Q1 2021.


This question was answered on 8th July 2021

The latest published data from HM Revenue & Customs shows that exports of food, feed and drink to the EU totalled £2.1 billion in the first three months of 2021. This is 33% lower than the same period in 2020. There are many factors that cause fluctuations in export volumes and values, with the impacts of COVID-19 and businesses adapting to EU import requirements contributing over the last year.

We recognise that for some of our sectors EU import requirements are challenging and the Government is committed to supporting businesses in understanding and complying with the new processes that apply. We are also supporting businesses to capitalise on export opportunities across the world created through Free Trade Agreements. The Department for International Trade’s ‘open doors’ campaign provides exporters with market intelligence and a range of tools and resources to boost export capability.

We have produced guidance and supporting resources such as webinars to help businesses understand the new rules. These set out import requirements and the steps businesses need to take to comply with them. This includes a particular focus on tailored support for SMEs. We recognise that a key issue is a lack of consistency of how EU requirements are being applied at different border posts. Defra officials hold regular technical meetings with their counterparts in EU Member States to address this and ensure the process is as smooth and consistent as possible for exporters and importers.

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