UK farmers warn of food shortage in no-deal Brexit scenario

Britain's farmers warned of a food shortage next year if a frictionless trade deal after Brexit was not agreed with the EU.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) said Tuesday 7 August marked the notional day in the calendar where the British larder would “run bare if we fed the nation only British food from 1 January”.

Department for Agriculture figures for 2017 show that Britain produced 60% of its own food and this rate was in long-term decline, the NFU added

NFU President Minette Batters said British food production had been “pulled into sharp focus in recent weeks with farmers across the country wrangling with the impacts of unprecedented dry and hot weather”.

“The UK farming sector has the potential to be one of the most impacted sectors from a bad Brexit – a frictionless free trade deal with the EU and access to a reliable and competent workforce for farm businesses is critical to the future of the sector,” she said.

“The statistics show a concerning long-term decline in the UK’s self-sufficiency in food and there is a lot of potential for this to be reversed,” Batters said.

“And while we recognise the need for importing food which can only be produced in different climates, if we maximise on the food that we can produce well in the UK, then that will deliver a whole host of economic, social and environmental benefits to the country.”