Chart: Why the EU-UK trade deal is coming at a good time

Chief among these was the announcement of a new sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement, which applies to trade in food and animals. The UK has committed to aligning UK food safety standards with those of the bloc, meaning most routine checks on animal and plant products will be removed completely. 

Food, drink and animal feed exports to the EU have been dropping fast in volume terms. Around 7.7 billion kg was exported in 2024, 33% less than was sent to the EU in 2019. 

At the same time, the UK has become more reliant on EU imports with the volume of food and drinkstuffs received from the bloc soaring to 27 billion kg last year. 

In its latest trade snapshot, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) said this big decline in UK exports was not solely down to global conditions. It pointed out that the average quarterly amount of food that the UK was exporting globally between 2020 and 2025 was 19.8% down on the average between 2015 and 2019. Germany, Italy and the Netherlands all saw increases over the same period. France decreased but by considerably less than the UK. 

“This decline shows that the UK’s challenges aren’t part of a global trend but rather unique to the UK’s post-Brexit circumstances. Working towards a traditional SPS agreement would help mitigate trade disruptions and enhance competitiveness,” the report said. 

What kind of things are coming in and going out? According to the snapshot published by the FDF, the UK imports £2.9bn of wine from the EU, as well as £2.8bn of both vegetables and chocolate. 

In the other direction, EU importers spend the most on UK whisky (£1.5bn), chocolate (£664.4m) and cheese (£641.6m).

“The removal of veterinary checks is good news for retailers and consumers alike. It will help keep costs down and create greater security in retail supply chains, ensuring the ongoing availability of key food imports for British shoppers,” said BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson. 

“As well as supporting growth for exporters to the UK’s biggest export market, retailers operating in the EU will also see a huge reduction in the unnecessary processes, paperwork and administrative burden when exporting goods, supporting our competitiveness abroad.”