UK food exports slump as US tariffs hit products like salmon

BRITAIN’S exports of food like salmon plunged in the first half of the year as US tariffs deal a blow to farmers and other producers.

Food export volumes plunged 12 per cent in the period, the weakest start to a year since the pandemic in 2021, the Food and Drink Federation said on Friday (Sep 25).

Meanwhile, food imports were close to the record high reached a year earlier, suggesting the UK is becoming more reliant on overseas producers.

The UK’s food and drink lobby sounded the alarm about the industry’s diminishing competitiveness, with the country’s £21.1 billion (US$27.9 billion) deficit its largest in over 25 years. “In a world beset by conflict and the ever-increasing impacts of climate change, this poses some stark questions about our food security,” FDF chief executive officer Karen Betts said in a statement. 

British food producers have been hit this year by more extreme weather with early rain replaced by droughts as the country likely faced its hottest summer on record. That’s compounded challenges like Brexit barriers and higher tariffs from US President Donald Trump.

US tariffs contributed to a 17 per cent drop in sales to the world’s largest economy, while the Iran war saw food and drink exports to Middle East countries like the UAE plummet by nearly a quarter.

Salmon exports plunged by almost a third in the first six months of 2026, with milk and cream down 13 per cent by value.

Brexit dented exports to European Union countries like Ireland and France due to additional costs and complexities made worse by countries applying the rules differently, the FDF said. 

Exports to the US will worsen as new duties there will benefit EU food producers, the FDF warned.

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A new wave of food regulations including higher taxes, packaging rules and the removal of British tariffs on foreign-made food products are exacerbating the problem, as it’s often cheaper for consumers to buy Chinese biscuits than local ones.

The British government must incentivise investment in the industry by simplifying regulation ensuring tariff suspensions benefit domestic food producers, the lobby group said. BLOOMBERG