UK food and drink exports to EU almost halve in first quarter

Fall in sales due to post-Brexit changes and effect of coronavirus pandemic, industry figures say.

Food and drink exports from the United Kingdom to the European Union nearly halved during the first three months of this year compared with the same period in 2020, mostly due to changes in post-Brexit trading relationships but also as the pandemic weighed. Figures published on Friday by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) revealed a 47 percent downturn in such sales to the bloc in the first quarter of 2021, which followed the UK’s exit from its single market and customs union at the end of last year. Food and drink exports to the EU over the three-month period leading up to the end of March were valued at 1.7bn pounds ($2.3bn), compared with last year’s 3.1bn pounds ($4.3bn).