IN Brief:
- UK food and drink exports fell 4.8% in value and 8.9% in volume in Q1 2026.
- Exports to the US dropped 27.9%, while imports from the US rose 11.5%.
- The Food and Drink Federation is calling for stronger export support, lower production costs, and tariff relief on ingredients rather than finished goods.
The Food and Drink Federation has warned that UK food and drink manufacturers are losing ground in global markets after exports fell sharply in the first quarter of 2026.
The organisation’s latest Trade Snapshot shows food and drink exports down 4.8% year on year to £5.7 billion in Q1. In volume terms, exports fell 8.9% to 2.0 billion kg, the lowest first-quarter volume recorded in the past decade excluding the height of the pandemic. Imports moved in the opposite direction, rising 2.6% in value to £16.3 billion and widening the gap between UK food and drink exports and imports.
The decline was driven most sharply by non-EU markets. Exports beyond the EU fell 11.5% compared with Q1 2025, while exports to the US dropped 27.9% in value. The figures show the effect of additional US tariffs introduced in April 2025, with UK manufacturers facing tougher conditions in a market that has long been important for premium, heritage, and branded food and drink.
US manufacturers are also gaining ground in the UK. Imports from the US rose 11.5% to £419.5 million during the quarter. The UK’s food and drink export surplus with the US fell 69.3%, from £359 million to £110 million, reaching its lowest level since Brexit.
The FDF has raised concern over proposed UK tariff suspensions that would make it cheaper for US businesses to export products such as chocolate, biscuits, jams, and spreads into the UK, while British manufacturers continue to face higher costs when exporting to the US. The federation is urging government to suspend tariffs on ingredients rather than manufactured products, arguing that this would lower the cost of producing food in the UK without weakening domestic finished-goods producers.
Exports to markets covered by recent trade agreements also weakened. Food and drink exports to members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership fell 11.3%, while exports to India were down 16.6% in volume terms. The figures underline the difference between signing trade agreements and enabling manufacturers to use them effectively.
Improved market access to countries such as Mexico under CPTPP has created new routes for UK exporters, but access alone does not remove the operational work required to grow sales. Exporters still need customs support, market intelligence, distributor relationships, certification, shelf-life planning, tariff use, and help with the administrative burden of entering new markets.
EU trade remains under pressure as well. Export volumes to the EU fell 6.9% compared with Q1 2025, continuing the downward trend seen since 2019. Exports fell in value terms to Ireland and France, the UK’s two largest overall food and drink export markets, by 6.3% and 5.8% respectively.
The planned UK-EU sanitary and phytosanitary agreement is expected to remove some trade friction by reducing checks and certification requirements for relevant goods. Clarity on timing and implementation will be critical. SPS barriers affect animal products, plant-based ingredients, composite products, documentation, groupage, and short shelf-life movements. Even small reductions in friction can improve competitiveness where margins are tight and delivery windows are short.
The cost base is another problem. The FDF’s data shows that the cost of importing ingredients and raw materials, including plastic packaging, is 38.6% higher than in January 2020. Combined with energy costs, labour costs, and regulatory change, that creates a production environment in which UK manufacturers are competing internationally from a higher-cost base.
Export weakness therefore reflects more than one tariff dispute. It is the result of cost pressure, trade friction, market-access complexity, and uneven competitive conditions. A sector under pressure at home has less capacity to absorb overseas risk, fund market development, or hold margin while building export volume.
The next policy test is whether government can convert trade agreements, SPS improvements, and tariff decisions into practical export gains. British food and drink brands retain strong recognition abroad, but recognition does not offset a weaker cost position, slower border movement, or tariff disadvantage. The Q1 figures show a sector that needs operational support alongside trade ambition.
