A new survey carried out on behalf of the EC found that a majority of producers, importers, wholesalers foodservice professionals across seven different food and beverage sectors will continue to import from the EU over the next 12 months.
Members of the wine and dairy sectors said they were 100% committed to sourcing additional SKUs from the EU over the coming year, followed by beer and spirits (80%), charcuterie and meat (80%) and bakery (70%).
Andrew Crumpton, founder of AMC Consulting and advisor to the EU’s ‘More Than Only Food & Drink’ campaign’, said: “These insights demonstrate that despite the challenges and complexities of new cross-border trade agreements, the EU remains a valued partner and important resource for the UK’s food and drink industry and is likely to remain that way.”
Fruit and veg industry concerns
However, the confectionery and fruit and vegetable sectors expressed the highest level of uncertainty or non-commitment, with just 30% of respondents planning to source additional SKUs from the EU in 2025.
Veryan Bliss, managing director of Food Intelligence and fresh produce advisor to the ‘More Than Only Food & Drink’ campaign added: “When certain crops are out of season in the UK, EU producers support the offer, ensuring that UK retailers can offer a consistent, high-quality selection to consumers throughout the year. However responses from fruit and vegetable industry professionals highlight the impact of controls for fresh produce, which have been complex and changeable.”
“But with an easement on fresh produce checks now in place until July 2025 and confirmation that several fruit and vegetable products, which were previously deemed medium risk have now been changed to ‘low risk’, there is an increased potential for UK importers to benefit from the quality of organically and sustainably grown produce from the EU.”
Factors driving imports
Respondents that imported from the EU cited quality (95%), pricing (81%), authenticity (78%) and sustainability (77%) as the most important factors that they considered when adding new SKUs to their product ranges.
Authenticity and tradition were voted the most popular characteristics of EU food & beverage products (79% and 70%, respectively), while diversity (64%), good taste (62%), safety (59%) and high quality (54%) also ranked highly.
“It is clear that the relationship between the UK and EU is incredibly important,” Bliss continued. “In 2023 the UK was the number one destination for EU agri-food, accounting for 22% of exports and with a value of €51.3bn.”
Meanwhile, UK exports to the EU were down almost a quarter in the first half of 2024, according to the Food and Drink Federation Trade Snapshot.
