New figures have laid bare the disastrous impact Brexit has had on the British farming industry, with food and drink exports falling by more than a third.
Analysis by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) of HMRC data compared exports in the year to July with the same period in 2019, before Britain had formally left the EU.
The analysis showed a huge drop in exports, which had dropped by over a third since 2019.
The most dramatic fall was for sugar, with exports down 70%. Poultry exports fell by more than half (53%), whilst eggs and egg products sold for confectionary and baking industries down 65% for the same period.
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But full year data from 2019 to 2025 showed an even more disastrous decline with exports of eggs and egg products down almost three-quarters (74%), the Guardian reports.
The NFU president, Tom Bradshaw, said: “The EU is our largest trading partner for agri-food products, accounting for 68% of agri-food exports last year, but trade volumes have fallen over a third since 2019.”
One of the main disadvantages for food exporters post-Brexit has been the added paperwork required. With Britain outside of the EU, all food exports are required to have customs paperwork with different codes for every single product.
The irony of the new figures is that the majority of farmers voted for Britain to leave the EU in 2016. Polling suggests that around 53% of farmers voted leave in the referendum, while 45% opted to remain, in a prime example of turkeys voting for Christmas.
In recent weeks, Andy Burnham has reignited the Brexit debate by refusing to rule out the UK potentially rejoining the EU.
As evidence of Brexit’s disastrous economic impact on the UK continues to mount up and public support for a ‘Breturn’ grows, the prime minister has said he will look at all options for the country’s long-term relationship with the EU.