According to a new report from Savills, 69% of food imports of fruit and vegetables, meat, cereals, dairy and eggs to the UK last year were subject to lower production standards than home-produced food.
In all imports of these four categories were worth £24.5 billon. Overall food imports between March 2021 and February 2022 were worth £39.5 billion, compared to just £13.9 billion. While the World Trade Organisation (WTO) does allow for food safety standards within trade deals based upon quality, they don’t address the way the product is created, including its environmental impact.
Emily Norton, head of rural research at Savills, commented, “While the UK can improve standards of its own food producers, the scope to impose them on imports through trade deals is much more limited. Unilateral tariff cuts on food imports in the name of the cost-of-living crisis is a short-sighted fix to a long-term problem. It’s important the government acknowledges that preserving and improving domestic food production is vital in meeting domestic targets for biodiversity and nature, as well as consumers’ needs to access safe and nutritious food.”
Andrew Wraith Savills head of food and farming added, “UK producers are seeing higher environmental standards being implemented through legislation but also through evolving supply chain requirements which are impacting on costs of production. Confidence in investment in domestic production is undermined by the prospect of cheaper imported supply produced against different standards.”
Savills warn that, ‘The government’s Green Trade report stressed that the UK is well placed to take a leading role in setting a precedent for the way in which trade deals can target environmental impact, however, environmental equivalence won’t stop UK producers being undercut by overseas producers who benefit from climatic differences as well as lower labour costs.’