British food exports to the EU have fallen by nearly a quarter over five years. The export volume dropped from 6.7 billion kilograms to 5.1 billion kilograms. This shows that sales towards Europe have clearly become much smaller than before Brexit.
The decline mostly affects individual EU countries. British exports to Germany decreased by almost 60 percent. Similarly, substantially fewer British food and drink products were sent to Poland and Belgium than in the years prior to Brexit.
At the same time, British trade outside the EU is growing, but much more slowly. In the first three quarters of 2025, their exports of food and beverages rose by just under six percent. Especially India and the Arab Gulf states stand out. Exports to India increased by almost ten percent.
The import side is also changing. Imports of food and beverages from non-EU countries increased by 17.1 percent. This brought total food imports this year to a record £49.6 billion.
The economic context is challenging. The British economy is growing slowly and the recent budget, according to official estimates, contained no measures likely to noticeably boost growth. Monetary policy also offers only limited scope for additional stimulus.
This fuels political debate in London. British politics is openly discussing the economic consequences of Brexit and the role of trade with the EU. At the same time, calls for closer ties clash with political promises and opposition from parties that want to maintain distance from the EU.
Opinion polls in the United Kingdom show that now more than half of Britons believe Brexit was the wrong choice. Various economic data also show that the British economy is performing worse than most EU countries.
Earlier this month, the Labour government of Prime Minister Kier Starmer decided to reverse a small part of the break with the EU countries: British students are once again allowed to participate in the European Erasmus education program. This gives them access again to studies in EU countries.
Prime Minister Kier Starmer has also agreed that customs checks at the Spanish border with British Gibraltar will operate as if between two EU countries. This means there will be no ‘hard border’ for British residents of Gibraltar and tourists in southern Spain going to Gibraltar.