UK trade in Food, Feed and Drink
Updated 19 May 2025
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This release shows the latest statistics for the value of United Kingdom trade in Food, Feed and Drink, presented in current prices and real terms (2024 prices), after adjusting for trade price inflation. Previous data has been published in Defra’s ‘Agriculture in the United Kingdom’ and ‘Food Statistics in your Pocket’ publications. This release provides the first publication of data for 2024.
Key results
In 2024:
- The total value of Food, Feed and Drink (FFD) exports from the UK increased by 0.5% from 2023 to £24.6 billion in current prices but decreased by 2% in real terms (2024 prices), after adjusting for trade price inflation.
- The total value of UK Food, Feed and Drink (FFD) imports increased by 5% from 2023 to £64.1 billion in current prices and increased by 7% in real terms (2024 prices), after adjusting for trade price inflation.
1. Value of exports of Food, Feed and Drink from the United Kingdom
In 2024, the total value of exports of Food, Feed and Drink (FFD) from the United Kingdom was £24.6 billion, 0.5% higher than in 2023 in current prices and 9% higher than in 2018, pre-EU Exit. In current prices, the value of FFD exports has recovered from the low points of 2020 and 2021 when trade was affected by Covid and EU Exit.
After adjusting for trade price inflation, exports of Food, Feed and Drink were 2% lower in 2024 than in 2023 and 13% lower than in 2018, FFD exports are below 2021 and pre-EU Exit levels.
Figure 1.1: Total value of Food, Feed and Drink exports from the UK, in current prices and real terms (2024 prices), adjusted for trade price inflation (£ billion)
Notes for figure 1.1
- The combined effects of the pandemic, national and international lockdown restrictions and EU exit uncertainty may have contributed to lower trade in 2020.
- The grey line at 2021 represents the end of the Transition Period and a change in the data source for GB to EU exports, from Intrastat to customs declaration. This means that trade before and after this point is not directly comparable.
Text description of Figure 1.1: Figure 1.1 is a line chart showing the value of food, feed and drink exports from the United Kingdom in billions of pounds between 2015 and 2024. Data are presented in both current and real terms (2024 prices) after adjusting for trade price inflation.
By SITC group (Table 1.1), ‘Beverages’ has the greatest export value (£8,196 million in 2024). Between 2023 and 2024 (in current prices) increased exports for products such as ‘Fish and fish preparations’ (up £225 million, 13%), ‘Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices’ (up £208 million, 13%) and ‘Miscellaneous edible products’ (up £146 million, 6%), were largely offset by reductions in ‘Cereals and cereal preparations’ (down £358 million, -13%), following the lower UK harvest in 2024, and ‘Beverages’ (down £291 million, -3%). In real terms (2024 prices), the greatest contributors to the reduction in value between 2023 and 2024 were ‘Beverages’ (down £734 million, -8%) and ‘Cereals and cereal preparations’ (down £344 million, -13%).
Table 1.1: Value of Food, Feed & Drink exports from the United Kingdom, by SITC group in current prices and real terms (2024 prices), adjusted for trade price inflation (£ million), 2022-2024
| SITC group | Description | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | % change 2023-2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current prices | |||||
| 01 | Meat & meat preps | 2,118 | 2,051 | 2,127 | 3.7% |
| 02 | Dairy & birds’ eggs | 2,135 | 2,083 | 2,124 | 2.0% |
| 03 | Fish & fish preps | 1,730 | 1,731 | 1,957 | 13.0% |
| 04 | Cereals & cereal preps | 2,642 | 2,765 | 2,407 | -12.9% |
| 05 | Fruit and Veg | 1,009 | 981 | 1,017 | 3.6% |
| 06 | Sugar & sugar preps | 332 | 422 | 425 | 0.8% |
| 07 | Coffee, tea, etc. | 1,529 | 1,597 | 1,805 | 13.0% |
| 08 | Animal feed | 1,201 | 1,229 | 1,201 | -2.3% |
| 09 | Misc. edible preps | 2,190 | 2,424 | 2,570 | 6.0% |
| 11 | Beverages | 9,215 | 8,487 | 8,196 | -3.4% |
| 22 | Oil seeds | 59 | 56 | 44 | -21.2% |
| 40 | Oils & fats | 778 | 614 | 680 | 10.7% |
| Real terms 2024 prices |
|||||
| 01 | Meat & meat preps | 2,347 | 2,095 | 2,127 | 1.5% |
| 02 | Dairy & birds’ eggs | 2,330 | 2,062 | 2,124 | 3.0% |
| 03 | Fish & fish preps | 1,793 | 1,741 | 1,957 | 12.4% |
| 04 | Cereals & cereal preps | 2,893 | 2,751 | 2,407 | -12.5% |
| 05 | Fruit and Veg | 1,091 | 1,006 | 1,017 | 1.1% |
| 06 | Sugar & sugar preps | 398 | 444 | 425 | -4.4% |
| 07 | Coffee, tea, etc. | 1,854 | 1,701 | 1,805 | 6.1% |
| 08 | Animal feed | 1,284 | 1,192 | 1,201 | 0.7% |
| 09 | Misc. edible preps | 2,645 | 2,559 | 2,570 | 0.4% |
| 11 | Beverages | 10,693 | 8,929 | 8,196 | -8.2% |
| 22 | Oil seeds | 59 | 56 | 44 | -21.2% |
| 40 | Oils & fats | 846 | 592 | 680 | 14.7% |
2. Value of imports of Food, Feed and Drink to the United Kingdom
In 2024, the total value of imports of Food, Feed and Drink (FFD) to the United Kingdom was £64.1 billion, 5% higher than in 2023 in current prices and 36% higher than in 2018, pre-EU Exit. The value of FFD imports increased sharply in 2022. Note that the value of imports in 2021 and 2022 may have been affected by changes to data collection methods and staged customs controls. Staged customs controls were in place during 2021, enabling customs declarations for goods moving from the EU to Great Britain to be delayed by up to six months. In the first six months of 2022, there may have been some over-recording of EU imports to GB from delayed customs declarations for trade that was also recorded as an import by Intrastat in 2021.
After adjusting for trade price inflation, imports of Food, Feed and Drink were 7% higher in 2024 than in 2023 and 3% lower than in 2018.
Figure 2.1: Total value of Food, Feed and Drink imports to the UK, in current prices and real terms (2024 prices), adjusted for trade price inflation (£ billion)
Notes for figure 2.1
- The combined effects of the pandemic, national and international lockdown restrictions and EU exit uncertainty may have contributed to lower trade in 2020.
- The grey line at 2021 indicates the end of the Transition Period. The level of imports from the EU may be lower in 2021 due to the retention of Intrastat for GB to EU imports as a result of staged customs controls.
- The grey line at 2022 indicates a change in data source from Intrastat to customs declarations for EU to GB imports and the end of staged customs controls. In the first six months of 2022, there may have been some over-recording of EU imports to GB from delayed customs declarations for trade that was also recorded as an import by Intrastat in 2021.
Text description of Figure 2.1: Figure 2.1 is a line chart showing the value of food, feed and drink imports to the United Kingdom in billions of pounds between 2015 and 2024 in both current and real terms (2024 prices) after adjusting for trade price inflation.
By SITC group (Table 2.1), ‘Vegetables and fruit’ has the greatest import value, £14,449 million in 2024. Between 2023 and 2024 (in current prices) there were increased imports for many of the SITC commodity groups including ‘Vegetables and fruit’ (up £1,242 million, 9%), ‘Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices’ (up £920 million, 9%) and ‘Cereals and cereal preparations’ (up £422 million, 6%). In real terms (2024 prices), the greatest contributors to the increase in value between 2023 and 2024 were ‘Vegetables and fruit’ (up £1,595 million, 12%), ‘Cereals and cereal preparations’ (up £869 million, 14%) and ‘Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices’ (up £707 million, 13%).
Table 2.1: Value of Food, Feed & Drink imports to the United Kingdom, by SITC group in current prices and real terms (2024 prices), adjusted for trade price inflation (£ million), 2022-2024
| SITC group | Description | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | % change 2023-2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current prices | |||||
| 01 | Meat & meat preps | 7,777 | 8,195 | 8,462 | 3.3% |
| 02 | Dairy & birds’ eggs | 3,625 | 3,960 | 4,226 | 6.7% |
| 03 | Fish & fish preps | 3,658 | 3,453 | 3,450 | -0.1% |
| 04 | Cereals & cereal preps | 5,932 | 6,552 | 6,974 | 6.4% |
| 05 | Fruit and Veg | 12,300 | 13,207 | 14,449 | 9.4% |
| 06 | Sugar & sugar preps | 1,488 | 1,987 | 1,835 | -7.6% |
| 07 | Coffee, tea, etc. | 4,734 | 5,085 | 6,005 | 18.1% |
| 08 | Animal feed | 3,333 | 3,473 | 3,396 | -2.2% |
| 09 | Misc. edible preps | 3,995 | 4,269 | 4,572 | 7.1% |
| 11 | Beverages | 7,482 | 7,656 | 7,505 | -2.0% |
| 22 | Oil seeds | 1,294 | 1,047 | 1,026 | -2.0% |
| 40 | Oils & fats | 2,478 | 2,200 | 2,153 | -2.2% |
| Real terms 2024 prices |
|||||
| 01 | Meat & meat preps | 9,117 | 7,838 | 8,462 | 8.0% |
| 02 | Dairy & birds’ eggs | 4,096 | 3,913 | 4,226 | 8.0% |
| 03 | Fish & fish preps | 3,806 | 3,271 | 3,450 | 5.5% |
| 04 | Cereals & cereal preps | 6,863 | 6,105 | 6,974 | 14.2% |
| 05 | Fruit and Veg | 13,225 | 12,853 | 14,449 | 12.4% |
| 06 | Sugar & sugar preps | 1,913 | 2,003 | 1,835 | -8.4% |
| 07 | Coffee, tea, etc. | 5,805 | 5,298 | 6,005 | 13.3% |
| 08 | Animal feed | 3,417 | 3,342 | 3,396 | 1.6% |
| 09 | Misc. edible preps | 5,177 | 4,457 | 4,572 | 2.6% |
| 11 | Beverages | 8,248 | 7,786 | 7,505 | -3.6% |
| 22 | Oil seeds | 1,217 | 982 | 1,026 | 4.4% |
| 40 | Oils & fats | 2,884 | 2,210 | 2,153 | -2.6% |
3. Methodology
The figures in this release are derived from two sources:
- HM Revenue and Customs Overseas Trade Statistics (all trade in current prices).
- ONS trade time series for implied deflators.
The deflators are calculated as the Current Price measure (CP) divided by the Chained Volume Measure (CVM). These have been calculated and applied separately for EU and Non-EU trade for each SITC 2-digit component of Food, Feed & Drink except for two items (Dairy imports and oilseed exports) for which world trade deflators have been used. This is because of the very small value of non-EU trade for these two items and potential distortion of the deflators which are provided only as integers by ONS. For Beverages, we used the beverages and tobacco deflators as there is no separate published deflator for just beverages. The base year has been adjusted to 2024.
The inflation adjusted totals for Food, Feed and Drink are calculated as the total of the deflated SITC components.
Information on the definition of Food, Feed and Drink can be found at:
Changes to data collection for EU trade with Great Britain mean that data are not directly comparable for exports (before and after 2021) and for imports (before and after 2022).
Further information on HMRC’s methodology changes for trade in goods statistics can be found here:
Information from the Office for National Statistics about the impact of changes in data collection on trade statistics can be found at:
4. What you need to know about this release
4.1 Contact details
Responsible statistician: Trade statistics team
Email: trade-stats@defra.gov.uk
For media queries between 9am and 6pm on weekdays:
Telephone: 0330 041 6560
Email: newsdesk@defra.gov.uk
4.2 Official statistics status
This is an Official Statistics publication. Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You can read about how Official Statistics in Defra comply with these standards on the Defra Statistics website. You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards using the contact details above. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.