According to a recent report by the Food and Drink Federation, UK food and drink exports to non-EU countries have risen strongly since the pandemic. The UK Independence Party welcomes this excellent news and applauds UK businesses for achieving export growth in much of the world.

UK exports to non-EU countries were up 16.2%, a record £2.3bn in Q1 2022, 10.7% higher than in the same period of 2019. Australia, Canada, India, Japan, and the US all saw trade from the UK above pre-pandemic levels. During Q1 2022, exports rose in 16 of the UK’s top 20 markets for food and drink exports. Overall, food and drink exports in Q1 2022 totalled £5.3bn, 7% down on the same period in 2019. Exports of beef were up 80% year on year, and those of whisky, the UK’s single-biggest food and drink export, were up almost 40% on 2019 to £1.2bn. Exports of chocolate (£201.5m) and gin (£164.1m) were the next biggest export categories.

For over 40 years, membership of the EU meant that the UK had to put all its eggs in one basket. Having now regained its freedom from the corset of Brussels, UK exporters are no longer constrained by the EU’s trade agreements. Just as predicted by the UK Independence Party our businesses are now, at last, free to take advantage of our renewed ability to make our own global free trade agreements.

As always, the dead hand of Brussels still weighs heavily on UK businesses. UK exports to the EU do remain larger at £3bn but they lag below pre-Brexit and pre-pandemic levels. A huge contributory factor is that Brussels’ bureaucrats have imposed border checks on UK exports post-Brexit. The UK’s seafood and meat sectors additionally complain of reduced trade due to the lack of a veterinary deal between the EU and UK. The Conservative Government has failed in its duty to impose reciprocal import controls on EU goods. Although originally planned for 1 July 2022, the Tory government is now dragging its feet and delaying implementation of border checks until at least the end of 2023 (which is 7 years after we voted to leave the EU). 

The UK Independence Party deplores this delay as unacceptable and does not see the result as creating a level playing field. The UK Independence Party believes it is unfair to UK businesses and that the government must immediately impose controls on EU imports until Brussels lifts all its own border checks on UK exports.

Steve Grimes
UK Independence Party Spokesman for Business, Trade and Foreign Affairs