-
Negotiations with the EU to start next week on food and drink
deal that will slash red tape, support British businesses and
could add up to £5.1 billion a year to the economy.
-
New statistics show just how much dairy and egg exporters
will benefit from the UK-EU reset.
-
The North West of England, Wales and the Yorkshire and Humber
regions were the top regional exporters in Great Britain with
a combined total of £408 million in exports.
A new food and drink (SPS) deal between the UK and the EU will
remove major regulatory barriers to trade, benefiting dairy and
egg exporters across the UK.
Today (November 14th), EU Minister spoke to a group of
Welsh industry and civil society groups in Cardiff, including the
Food and Drink Federation, the National Farmers' Union and the
International Meat Traders Association to discuss the future of
UK-EU trade relations.
This comes after the UK and the EU agreed to start negotiations
on both the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and Emissions
Trading System (ETS) agreements next week. The EU has agreed its
collective mandates for food, drink and emissions trading
negotiations, putting us on a path to implement the commitments
made at our historic May Summit.
Last year, the North West of England exported £212 million worth
of dairy products and birds' eggs to EU member states, followed
by Wales with £98 million, and closely followed by Yorkshire and
Humber with £97 million. These exports included a range of
globally recognised regional favourites such as Cheshire Cheese,
Hafod cheddar and rich salted butter. In 2024, the North West of
England, Wales, and the Yorkshire and Humber region were among
the top regional exporters of egg and dairy products to the EU in
Great Britain, in terms of value.
The EU is the UK's largest trading partner; however, since
Brexit, many businesses have scaled back their trade with the EU
due to increased costs and administrative burdens. This has
likely contributed to UK food, and drink exports to the EU
decreasing by 22% in real terms since 2018, and imports from the
EU decreasing by 5% in real terms after adjusting for trade price
inflation.
EU Relations Minister said:
"A food and drink deal will clear the path for British dairy
producers across the UK to sell their produce into the EU
seamlessly and competitively.
“When you've got a world-class product, you deserve to sell it on
the world stage.
"That is why we are working at pace to sweep away the
bureaucratic clutter left by the previous government, allowing
British firms selling in the EU to focus less on paperwork
and more on driving growth."
Food Security Minister Dame said:
“Making trade with the EU both easier and cheaper could add more
than £5bn a year to the economy in the long-term and contribute
to growth from which the whole country will benefit.
“Our food and drink industries will see major benefits to trade
as we cut red tape to boost exports and serve up more British
food on European plates.”
British goods such as dairy, fish, eggs and red meat entering the
EU are currently subject to 100% documentary checks and up to 30%
physical checks. An SPS deal will see these cumbersome processes
removed entirely.
It will slash costs and the red tape burdening British businesses
who export to and import from the EU, and cut the lengthy delays
that traders currently face.
Routine SPS border checks will be eliminated, so fresh produce
can hit supermarket shelves more quickly and traders can get
produce to European customers with less paperwork and fewer
costs.
Benefits will be felt by all shoppers in the UK, as reducing
trade frictions could reduce pressure on the price of a weekly
shop.
A new food and drink deal between the UK and the EU will also
ease trade barriers between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
New research published in August revealed the significant costs
that food businesses in Great Britain face when exporting under
the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, including the requirement
for Export Health Certificates which typically cost between £80
and £200 per certificate for fish and seafood goods and between
£113 and £200 per certificate for other agricultural foods.
Similarly, Organic Certificates of Inspection cost on average £35
per certificate in fees, while sampling can also add up to £1,200
to the cost of a shipment of beef or cheese, including sampling
fees, waiting time, and the value of the product lost.
ENDS
Notes to editors
-
Agricultural labour stats can be found here.
-
UK food, feed and drink exports to the EU have dropped by 22%
since 2018 after adjusting for trade price inflation, source
here.
-
Research on barriers to agri-food trade under the TCA
here.
-
Method for estimating long run impacts of an SPS agreement
here.
