Food: Import Controls
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of post-2020 border processes on food import volumes.
Answered by Dame Angela Eagle
The Border Target Operating Model Impact Assessment frames economic analysis around business costs/benefits, check rates, and biosecurity risk. It does not model or quantify changes in food import volumes attributable to the post‑2020/BTOM border processes.
Defra publishes statistics on overseas trade of food, feed and drink imports (Chapter 13: Overseas trade - GOV.UK).
UK agri‑food import patterns are influenced by various factors, making it difficult to attribute changes to border processes alone. The latest official statistics show that in 2024 the value of UK food, feed and drink imports rose by 6.6% to £64.1 billion, with fresh fruit and vegetable imports increasing 12% over the same period.
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