Market access barrier statistics 2025 to 2026
Published 11 June 2026
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/market-access-barrier-statistics-2025-to-2026/market-access-barrier-statistics-2025-to-2026
1. Purpose
This annual release covers statistics on the number of market access barriers reported and resolved by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and other government departments (OGD) in the financial year ending (FYE) 2026. These barriers are recorded on DBT’s internal database called Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
This annual publication includes:
- headline statistics on the number of market access barriers reported in the previous financial year
- headline statistics on the number of market access barriers resolved in the previous financial year
- a breakdown of these statistics by His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) region and sector
- total number of trading partners where barriers were resolved
- a comparison of these statistics with previous financial years’
- previous financial years’ revised data to make sure that data is easily accessible to allow for comparison across time
These annual statistics were designated as official statistics to improve process, accuracy, and consistency of the data. This is because they are DBT’s Outcome Delivery Plan metrics and are regularly published in the DBT Annual Report and Accounts as indicators on departmental performance.
Publication of market access barrier statistics shows both consumers and business that there is greater commitment from the government to resolve market access barriers and unlock trade opportunities abroad. They do not provide an indication of the value represented by barriers that have been resolved, or that are currently the subject of DBT’s market access activity. The aggregated valuation for a sample of resolved barriers is routinely included in the DBT Annual Report and Accounts.
DBT also releases information on trade barriers through the Check International Trade Barriers service (CITS). This provides information on a selection of barriers reported and barriers resolved by sector and location. The purpose is to raise awareness for UK businesses on a selection of the barriers DBT has worked to resolve or is working to resolve. CITS publishes details for a selection of barriers. This is because certain barriers can be deemed unsuitable for publication for a variety of reasons, including potential commercial or trade negotiation sensitivities. However, this statistical release provides headline figures on all the reported and resolved barriers for a reporting period.
2. Reported market access barriers headline statistics
2.1 Reported market access barriers in the financial year ending (FYE) 2026
323 reported barriers on DMAS
In the FYE 2026, 323 market access barriers were reported, which is 33 fewer barriers than in the previous FYE 2025 when 356 barriers were reported.
Figure 1: Number of reported market access barriers, FYE 2022 to FYE 2026
| Financial year | Number of reported barriers |
|---|---|
| FYE 2022 | 371 |
| FYE 2023 | 273 |
| FYE 2024 | 280 |
| FYE 2025 | 356 |
| FYE 2026 | 323 |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
Download more detailed data on number of reported market access barriers for FYE 2020 to FYE 2026 in OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ods) format.
The volatility in the number of barriers reported over the years could be due to identifying and recording barriers on DMAS, which can vary over time across the regions due to operational reasons. DMAS users may retrospectively remove old reported barriers in later years if they are no longer relevant. This could be due to factors such as barrier duplication or barriers not being aligned with the definition given in the technical annex. This can cause the number of barriers reported in prior years to change retrospectively.
2.2 Reported market access barriers by HMTC region in the financial year ending (FYE) 2026
64 highest reported on DMAS in Europe
6 lowest reported on DMAS in North America
The number of barriers reported within a geographic area or for a particular sector can provide an indication of market access activity. However, this should not be understood as a complete indicator of the market access conditions within HMTC region, or how they have changed. Instead, it represents the market access barriers that have been reported to DBT.
Table 1 shows that in the FYE 2026, the highest number of barriers were reported in Europe (64) and the lowest number of barriers were reported in North America (6).
The number of barriers reported in most regions show volatility between time periods. This is likely to reflect varying levels of operational activity by DBT within the region, with a focus on developing a more in-depth understanding of the market access issues to address the barriers that have been identified by DBT. This has less to do with changes in market access conditions.
Number of reported market access barriers by HMTC region, FYE 2022 to FYE 2026
| HMTC region | FYE 2022 | FYE 2023 | FYE 2024 | FYE 2025 | FYE 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 90 | 44 | 33 | 40 | 47 |
| Asia Pacific | 52 | 44 | 47 | 65 | 61 |
| China and Hong Kong | 37 | 12 | 14 | 26 | 43 |
| Eastern Europe and Central Asia | 40 | 27 | 32 | 23 | 27 |
| Europe | 69 | 75 | 71 | 74 | 64 |
| Latin America and Caribbean | 61 | 33 | 37 | 48 | 34 |
| Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan | 12 | 14 | 15 | 28 | 22 |
| North America | 4 | 5 | 18 | 40 | 6 |
| South Asia | 6 | 19 | 13 | 12 | 19 |
| Total | 371 | 273 | 280 | 356 | 323 |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
Download more detailed data on number of reported market access barriers for FYE 2020 to FYE 2026 in OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ods) format.
Table 2 presents the percentage share of HMTC regions in total barriers reported for FYE 2022 to FYE 2026. Europe had the highest proportion of total barriers reported (20%) and North America had the lowest proportion (2%) of total barriers reported in the FYE 2026.
Reported market access barriers by HMTC region as a percentage share of total, FYE 2022 to FYE 2026
| HMTC region | % of total FYE 2022 | % of total FYE 2023 | % of total FYE 2024 | % of total FYE 2025 | % of total FYE 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 24% | 16% | 12% | 11% | 15% |
| Asia Pacific | 14% | 16% | 17% | 18% | 19% |
| China and Hong Kong | 10% | 4% | 5% | 7% | 13% |
| Eastern Europe and Central Asia | 11% | 10% | 11% | 6% | 8% |
| Europe | 19% | 27% | 25% | 21% | 20% |
| Latin America and Caribbean | 16% | 12% | 13% | 13% | 11% |
| Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan | 3% | 5% | 5% | 8% | 7% |
| North America | 1% | 2% | 6% | 11% | 2% |
| South Asia | 2% | 7% | 5% | 3% | 6% |
| Total | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
Download more detailed data on number of reported market access barriers for FYE 2020 to FYE 2026 in OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ods) format.
2.3 Reported market access barriers by sector (% share) in financial year ending (FYE) 2026, as recorded on DMAS
12.9% highest percentage of total in the agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and pets sector
Figure 2 shows the proportion of market access barriers reported by sectors in the FYE 2026. The agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and pets sector had the highest (12.9%) proportion of reported market access barriers, followed by the financial and professional services sector (11.1%), and the food and drink sector (10.7%). It’s important to note that the number of barriers reported per sector is not a definitive indication of the market access conditions experienced by businesses exporting in those sectors.
Proportion of reported market access barriers by sector, FYE 2026
| Sectors affected | % of total sectors FYE 2026 |
|---|---|
| Agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and pets | 12.9% |
| Financial and professional services | 11.1% |
| Food and drink | 10.7% |
| Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology | 8.8% |
| Energy | 7.0% |
| Construction | 5.9% |
| Education and training | 5.7% |
| Automotive | 4.8% |
| Advanced engineering | 4.5% |
| Consumer and retail | 4.1% |
| Technology and smart cities | 4.1% |
| Healthcare services | 2.9% |
| Railways | 2.0% |
| Creative industries | 1.8% |
| Defence | 1.8% |
| Medical devices and equipment | 1.4% |
| Cross sector | 0.0% |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
Download more detailed data on number of reported market access barriers for FYE 2020 to FYE 2026 in OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ods) format.
Note: a particular market access barrier may affect several sectors. Therefore the total number of barriers in this figure will not match with the total number of reported barriers in Section 2.1.
In Figure 2, the data for certain sectors has been suppressed to reduce risks of identifying individual businesses. The suppressed sectors are aerospace, airports, chemicals, environment, logistics, maritime, mining, security, space, sports economy and water.
2.4 Number of trading partners where market access barriers were reported on DMAS in financial year ending (FYE) 2026
Figure 3 shows a count of the number of trading partners where barriers were reported on DMAS between FYE 2022 and FYE 2026.
The figure, in conjunction with Figure 1, shows that the government reported 323 barriers across 85 trading partners in the FYE 2026, whereas in FYE 2025, the government reported 356 barriers across 86 trading partners.
Number of trading partners reporting a barrier, FYE 2022 to FYE 2026
| Financial year | Number of trading partners reporting a barrier |
|---|---|
| FYE 2022 | 88 |
| FYE 2023 | 93 |
| FYE 2024 | 85 |
| FYE 2025 | 86 |
| FYE 2026 | 85 |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
Download more detailed data on number of reported market access barriers for FYE 2020 to FYE 2026 in OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ods) format.
3. Resolved market access barriers headline statistics
3.1 Resolved market access barriers in the financial year ending (FYE) 2026, as recorded on DMAS
133 resolved in full
21 resolved in part
When the underlying issues related to a market access barrier have been addressed and are no longer acting as an impediment to trade, DBT staff update the DMAS entry with status as ‘resolved’. Barriers on DMAS can be marked as ‘resolved in full’ when the issue has been fully addressed or ‘resolved in part’ when only a part of the issues related to a barrier is resolved.
The statistics on resolved barriers in Figure 4 show that:
A total of 154 market access barriers were marked as either fully resolved or resolved in part. This is 10 fewer barriers than in the previous FYE 2025, in which 164 were resolved. Of this:
-
133 market access barriers were resolved in full in FYE 2026, this is 4 fewer barriers than in the previous FYE 2025
-
21 market access barriers were resolved in part in FYE 2026, this is 6 fewer barriers than in the previous FYE 2025
Note: For some barriers it is possible for the DMAS status to change from ‘resolved in part’ to ‘resolved in full’, or vice versa, from year to year. Only unique barriers are accounted for in this release, without any risk of double counting.
Number of resolved market access barriers, in part or in full, FYE 2022 to FYE 2026
| Financial year | Resolved in part | Resolved in full | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| FYE 2022 | 18 | 160 | 178 |
| FYE 2023 | 17 | 152 | 169 |
| FYE 2024 | 17 | 154 | 171 |
| FYE 2025 | 27 | 137 | 164 |
| FYE 2026 | 21 | 133 | 154 |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
Download more detailed data on number of reported market access barriers for FYE 2020 to FYE 2026 in OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ods) format.
Note: statistics on resolved barriers will be affected by factors such as:
-
scope of resolution (whether it is fully or partially resolved)
-
profile of barriers resolved (the time and action required to resolve any individual barrier can vary considerably)
-
operational factors and reporting behaviour (for instance, data lags between a barrier being resolved and its DMAS status being updated to reflect this)
3.2 Resolved market access barriers in the financial year ending (FYE) 2026, as recorded on DMAS
35 highest resolved in Asia Pacific
1 lowest resolved in North America
The number of barriers resolved within a geographic area or for a particular sector can provide an indication of market access activity. It is not, however, the sole means to determine the effectiveness or impact of market access barrier resolution activity. Headline figures on resolved barriers do not give any indication of the level of activity required to achieve a resolution, nor the scale of opportunities posed by the barriers resolved.
Table 3 shows that in the FYE 2026, Asia Pacific (35) had the highest number of barriers resolved followed by Latin America and Caribbean (31) and Europe (29). North America (1) had the lowest number of barriers resolved on DMAS.
Number of resolved market access barriers, in part or in full, by HMTC region, FYE 2025 and FYE 2026
| HMTC region | Resolved in part FYE 2025 | Resolved in full FYE 2025 | Total for FYE 2025 | Resolved in part FYE 2026 | Resolved in full FYE 2026 | Total for FYE 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 3 | 15 | 18 | 5 | 17 | 22 |
| Asia Pacific | 1 | 30 | 31 | 0 | 35 | 35 |
| China and Hong Kong | 3 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 16 | 17 |
| Eastern Europe and Central Asia | 2 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 12 |
| Europe | 6 | 27 | 33 | 4 | 25 | 29 |
| Latin America and Caribbean | 7 | 27 | 34 | 4 | 27 | 31 |
| Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan | 0 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| North America | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| South Asia | 4 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Total | 27 | 137 | 164 | 21 | 133 | 154 |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
Download more detailed data on number of reported market access barriers for FYE 2020 to FYE 2026 in OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ods) format.
Number of resolved market access barriers, in part or in full, by HMTC region as a percentage share of total, FYE 2025 and FYE 2026
| HMTC region | FYE 2025 | FYE 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | 11% | 14% |
| Asia Pacific | 19% | 23% |
| China and Hong Kong | 6% | 11% |
| Eastern Europe and Central Asia | 6% | 8% |
| Europe | 20% | 19% |
| Latin America and Caribbean | 21% | 20% |
| Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan | 9% | 3% |
| North America | 3% | 1% |
| South Asia | 5% | 2% |
| Total | 100% | 100% |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
Download more detailed data on number of reported market access barriers for FYE 2020 to FYE 2026 in OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ods) format.
3.3 Resolved market access barriers by sector (% share) in financial year ending (FYE), 2026, as recorded on DMAS
20.8% highest percentage of total in the agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and pets sector
Figure 5 shows proportion of market access barriers resolved by sector in FYE 2026.
In the FYE 2026 the agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and pets sector had the highest share (20.8%) of market access barriers resolved (including both in full or in part) followed by the food and drink sector (16.8%), the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology sector (9.3%), and the financial and professional services sector (7.5%). However, this measure does not indicate sectoral prioritisation. The range of sectors in which barriers were resolved is affected by the number of barriers identified and reported on DMAS. This metric provides no additional insight into the complexity of barriers affecting different sectors, nor the level of activity involved in the resolution of barriers in each sector.
Proportion of resolved market access barriers (including in part or in full), by sector, FYE 2026
| Sectors affected | % of total sectors FYE 2026 |
|---|---|
| Agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and pets | 20.8% |
| Food and drink | 16.8% |
| Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology | 9.3% |
| Financial and professional services | 7.5% |
| Energy | 4.9% |
| Education and training | 4.4% |
| Automotive | 4.0% |
| Advanced engineering | 3.1% |
| Consumer and retail | 3.1% |
| Maritime | 3.1% |
| Aerospace | 2.7% |
| Construction | 2.7% |
| Medical devices and equipment | 2.7% |
| Creative industries | 0.0% |
| Water | 0.0% |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
Download more detailed data on number of reported market access barriers for FYE 2020 to FYE 2026 in OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ods) format.
Note: a particular market access barrier may affect several sectors. Therefore the total number of barriers in this figure will not match with the total number of resolved barriers in Section 3.1.
In Figure 5 the data for certain sectors has been suppressed to reduce risks of identifying individual businesses. The suppressed sectors are airports, chemicals, cross sector, defence, environment, healthcare services, logistics, mining, railways, security, space, sports economy, and technology and smart cities
3.4 Number of trading partners where market access barriers were resolved in financial year ending (FYE) 2026 (as recorded on DMAS)
The number of trading partners in which a barrier was resolved can provide some illustration on the breadth of market access activity being undertaken, although this provides no indication of the depth of the market access activity in the domain of the trading partner.
Figure 6 shows a count of the number of trading partners for which a barrier was marked as resolved on DMAS from FYE 2022 to FYE 2026.
The figure, in conjunction with Figure 4, shows that the government resolved 154 barriers across 53 trading partners in the FYE 2026, whereas in FYE 2025, the government resolved 164 barriers across 66 trading partners.
Number of trading partners where barriers were resolved in part or in full, FYE 2022 to FYE 2026
| Number of trading partners | Resolved in part | Resolved in full | Total number of trading partners |
|---|---|---|---|
| FYE 2022 | 12 | 71 | 73 |
| FYE 2023 | 14 | 68 | 72 |
| FYE 2024 | 13 | 67 | 69 |
| FYE 2025 | 21 | 63 | 66 |
| FYE 2026 | 14 | 48 | 53 |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
Download more detailed data on number of reported market access barriers for FYE 2020 to FYE 2026 in OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ods) format.
Note:
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a country could be part of both resolved in full and resolved in part, resulting in total not matching
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this table does not include barriers reported by trading blocs