How dependent is the UK on the EU for meals?

France’s determination to shut the border with the UK to cease the unfold of a brand new variant of the coronavirus has highlighted the significance of the Dover-Calais route for meals provides.

French residents and nationals with current unfavorable coronavirus assessments will have the ability to journey from Wednesday, and lorry drivers can achieve this after a fast lateral move check.

So simply how dependent is the UK on the EU for meals? And may British customers be frightened?

About 30% of all of the meals we eat within the UK comes from the European Union, in accordance with the British Retail Consortium (BRC) business group.

Britain imports practically half of its recent greens and nearly all of its fruit, each primarily from the EU – and that is the place the potential drawback was.

In the course of the summer season months, the UK can develop loads of its personal produce like lettuces and mushy berries comparable to raspberries and strawberries, however when the climate turns colder Britain is compelled to rely rather more on imports from the EU.

In January, for instance, the UK imports 90% of the lettuces it wants from the EU. However in June, Britain produces 95% of its personal salad leaves.

Tomatoes comply with the identical sample. In January, the UK buys in 85% of tomatoes from the European bloc, however by summer season it’s rising 60% of what the nation wants.

By the point winter rolls round, half of all of the UK’s meals is imported, in accordance with the Meals and Drink Federation.

It says that whereas there are not any issues about meals provides over Christmas, customers could have began to see gaps in recent fruit and vegetable provides from subsequent week – had the UK and France not “swiftly restored” their hyperlinks.

With regards to recent meals, probably the most environment friendly and most cost-effective approach to get produce to the UK is in refrigerated vehicles, utilizing the “roll-on roll-off” methodology of transport.

Meals is loaded on the truck at a farm in Spain, for instance, and is pushed to Calais the place it straight “rolls on” a ferry or the Eurotunnel and “rolls off” when it will get to Dover within the UK earlier than heading to its last vacation spot. These vehicles are then loaded up with UK items that are then despatched again throughout the Channel to EU prospects.

The driving force will stick with the truck – which is named “accompanied freight” – and for this reason there have been some issues in current days.

France was involved about drivers coming from the UK with the brand new variant of the coronavirus. Hundreds of lorries bought caught in Kent ready to get again into the EU.

Up to now, the UK has turned to different means when recent produce has been below menace.

In 2018, a summer season warmth wave meant the UK was consuming extra salad than traditional however the hotter climate additionally made it troublesome to truly develop lettuces.

Hundreds of iceberg lettuces have been duly shipped in to the UK from Los Angeles. However that is an costly methodology of replenishing provides and it’s uncertain companies will need to pay a premium for delivery at a time after they may very well be dealing with tariffs on shopping for different items from the EU relying on a Brexit deal.

Final yr, the UK exported £14.2bn price of food and drinks to the EU, out of a complete £23.6bn worldwide.

The Meals and Drink Federation says the UK’s largest exports are items comparable to whisky, salmon, chocolate, cheese and gin.

The UK additionally exports an enormous quantity of the meat it produces to the EU. The Nationwide Farmers’ Union says 82% of UK beef exports go to the bloc. The UK sells 30% of its lamb abroad, most of which works to the EU.

Within the EU, Eire is the UK’s largest buyer. It purchased £4bn price of food and drinks from the UK in 2019 – though that was a 3.8% drop on the earlier yr.

France purchased £2.3bn price of produce from Britain final yr, an increase of three.5%, whereas the Netherlands imported £1.7bn of UK items, up 5.2%.

The UK discovered itself within the eye of an ideal storm: France shut its border to freight from the UK; winter means the UK is extra reliant on the EU for recent meals; Britain will cease buying and selling below EU guidelines on 31 December; some British ports are dealing with extreme delays; the coronavirus has modified buying habits and it’s Christmas so demand is excessive.

Nonetheless, the UK’s main supermarkets say they’ve loads of provides – following the coronavirus panic-buying earlier this yr – and are encouraging folks to “store as regular”.

Tesco mentioned: “We have been constructing our stockholding of key merchandise forward of the Christmas peak and are working intently with our hauliers and suppliers to proceed the provision of products into our shops.”

Nonetheless, it did warn provides of some recent gadgets comparable to lettuce and citrus fruit may need been diminished “later this week” – had an settlement not been reached.

Sainsbury’s mentioned it was other ways of sourcing merchandise from Europe, a spokesman says: “If nothing modifications, we’ll begin to see gaps over the approaching days on lettuce, some salad leaves, cauliflowers, broccoli and citrus fruit, all of that are imported from the Continent right now of yr.”

We might – although there will surely not be the variability customers are used to. The Nationwide Farmers’ Union says the UK imports 45% of its greens, the overwhelming majority of which come from the EU.

Britain additionally buys 84% of its fruit from abroad, though it’s much less depending on the EU for these items.

Nonetheless, Spain is the largest provider of fruit to the UK, accounting for 19% of imports.

There are particular issues we are able to develop right here within the UK regardless of the climate. For instance, the UK produces 70% of cabbage and cauliflower provides in January, rising to 90% in June.

Nonetheless, that seems to be extra weighted in the direction of cabbage for the time being provided that Tesco and Sainsbury’s have each warned that cauliflowers may very well be one of many greens affected by the disruption.

In the meantime, greens like rhubarb will all the time thrive right here provided that it likes damp chilly soil.

But when difficulties proceed on the border with France, or a Brexit deal makes some produce dearer to convey into the UK, then folks could discover themselves having to eat no matter is seasonal.

Little question, this may please some comparable to environmentalists because it means meals is not going to need to journey as far, preserving a lid on emissions.

Nonetheless, it might not agree with everybody’s palate.