Uk Food, Drink Export Volumes Rise In 2025 Despite Us Tariffs

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UK food-and-drink export volumes accrued successful 2025 contempt nan effect of US tariffs, arsenic nan assemblage continued to set to post‑Brexit trading friction.

Figures from waste and acquisition assemblage The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) showed a “welcome recovery” successful shipments, pinch kilogram exports up 6% to 8.9bn and litre exports up 6.2% to 1.3bn complete nan year.

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Despite nan jump, nan manufacture assemblage stressed volumes stay “considerably lower” than pre-Brexit levels.

In worth terms, UK nutrient and portion exports climbed 4.8% to a grounds £25.6bn ($33.76bn) successful 2025, nan first clip nan assemblage has surgery done nan £25bn barrier.

Excluding alcohol, exports roseate 6.9% to £18.1bn.

Europe remained nan UK’s ascendant trading partner successful nan nutrient and drinks sector, accounting for 62.5% of exports and 74.1% of imports, pinch exports to nan region rising 6% successful worth to £16bn.

The FDF said nan worth of UK nutrient and drinks exported to nan EU stood astatine £14.8bn, up from £14bn successful 2024. UK exporters are still emotion nan effect of Brexit, nan organisation said.

“The export measurement chart underlines really UK exports person structurally reset astatine a little level since 2020. Despite immoderate betterment successful 2025, nutrient export volumes are 31% little successful 2025 than successful 2019,” nan FDF said.

The UK and nan EU are successful talks complete a caller sanitary and phytosanitary agreement, which they are aiming to instrumentality successful mid-2027.

Last year, Ireland and France remained nan 2 largest destinations for UK food-and-drink exports, followed by nan US.

With a 10% levy now successful place, UK food-and-drink exports to nan US fell 8.6% year-on-year successful nan 2nd half of 2025, pinch categories including babe look seeing crisp declines. Exports to nan US grew 3.6% to £2.8bn during 2025 arsenic a whole.

Looking astatine nan information by category, dairy products were among nan strongest performers successful 2025. Milk and pick exports roseate 22.5% successful worth and 10.3% successful volume, nearing nan £1bn mark, while food exports grew 9.4% to £971m.

Whisky remained nan top-selling UK food-and-drink export, though income fell 0.8% to £5.5bn and by 4.3% successful measurement terms.

Elsewhere, exports to India accrued 12.4% to £330.3m. The FDF described nan UK–India free waste and acquisition agreement, signed successful July past year, arsenic nan “most important post-Brexit waste and acquisition deal” highlighting that nan play earlier implementation should beryllium utilized to build supplier relationships and hole to standard up.

The UK’s accession to nan Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) besides started to present “first meaningful returns” successful 2025, nan FDF added.

While full exports to CPTPP members slipped 1.4% successful worth position to £2.1bn – dragged by alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks – nutrient export volumes to personnel countries roseate 7.8%. Mexico was a standout pinch exports jumping 26.2% to £148.4m.

On nan import side, UK nutrient and portion imports roseate 5.9% to a grounds £66.9bn successful 2025. Import volumes accrued to 38.5bn kg, up 2.5% connected 2024 and 13.1% higher than successful 2023.

Non-EU suppliers drove nan fastest growth, pinch import values rising 11.8% to £20.7bn and volumes up 13.9%, lifting nan non-EU stock of imports to 30.9%.

According to FDF data, fruits, poultry and vino were nan largest import categories by worth astatine £5.8bn, £3.8bn and £3.8bn, respectively.