Salmon swims against the tide of falling food exports
Scottish salmon was one of just three of the UK’s top 10 food and drink exports to do better in the first nine months of this year than 2020, figures from the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) show.
The value of exported salmon increased by 20.7% to £568.3 million from January to September, although it was still 6.4% lower than the £607.1m made in the same period in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.
The value of whisky exports increased by 21% to £3.3 billion in the first three quarters of 2021, and the value of soft drinks exports was up 11.5% to £361.6m.
£2.7bn lower than 2019
Export earnings from chocolate, pork, cheese, gin, breakfast cereals, wine and beef were all lower than last year.
Overall, UK exports of food and drink were down £2.7bn (-15.9%) in the first three quarters of 2021 compared to pre-pandemic levels (2019).
The FDF said this was largely due to a drop in sales to the EU of £2.4bn (-23.7%) resulting from new barriers to trade with the EU and the ongoing effects of the pandemic.
Imports hit
Imports have also been badly impacted since 2019, with sales from the EU down nearly 11% in the nine months to September compared to pre-Covid levels – a fall of more than £2.5bn.
With the UK due to implement its delayed import controls on products arriving from the EU in 2022, this will further impact the cost and availability of supplies of food and drink from the EU, including essential ingredients and raw materials required by UK manufacturers, said the FDF.
John Whitehead of the Food and Drink Exporters’ Association (FDEA) said: “The much-needed bounce back for salmon, whisky and soft drink exports is a real boost for the industry.”
