LONDON, Sept 3 — British food and drink exports in the first six months of 2021 were down by nearly 20 per cent from pre-pandemic levels, due to a slump in shipments to the European Union, industry data showed on Thursday.
That compared with £9.6 billion in the first half of 2020 and £11.1 billion in the first six months of 2019, representing a cumulative drop of nearly £2.0 billion or 17 per cent, FDF said. Britain left the EU single market and customs union on January 1, creating new bureaucratic barriers for its exporters already grappling with pandemic-related issues.
By contrast, exports to non-EU countries were up 13 per cent year-on-year in the first six months of this year.
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