NFU warn it could take years to restore Brexit losses despite efforts to smooth negotiations on farming and other elements of UK-EU reset
Exports of British farm products to the EU have dropped almost 40% in the five years since Brexit, highlighting the trade barriers caused by the UK’s divorce from the EU in 2020.
Analysis of HMRC data by the National Farmers’ Union shows the decline in sales of everything from British beef to cheddar cheese has dropped by 37.4% in the five years since 2019, the last full year before Brexit.
The poultry sector has been hit hardest with exports down 37.7%, followed by beef exports, which are down 23.6%, lamb 14% and dairy 15.6%.
Tom Bradshaw, the NFU president, said not all of the decline could be put down to Brexit but it showed the scale of damage caused by the UK leaving the European Union.
