2 days Ago By Alex Evans
Shoppers could face shortages of several major food and drink items this winter thanks to farmer protests. France is one of the biggest exporters of goods to the UK, and even after Brexit , the majority of food and drink imported by the UK comes from the EU. But this week, farmers in France have begun to organise protests following a deal signed by the EU with several South American countries known as the Mercosur trade bloc, comprising Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia - and it could have a knock on effect on Britain.
It comes as, separately, farmers take to the streets in the UK to protest against planned changes to Inheritance Tax on family farms, a move which many farmers worry could put them under which could in theory also hit food supplies. Ministers are drawing up contingency plans to keep supermarket shelves stocked after landowners threatened a strike on food deliveries. French farmers are concerned that the deal for duty-free imports of beef, poultry and sugar could create unfair competition for their own French grown produce.
While there is nothing concrete to suggest food exports from France to the UK will be disrupted as yet, should protests spiral and farmers down tools, there are several categories of food and drink sent from over the Channel which could potentially be affected in the future. Shoppers could be worried that cheese, honey, fruit and vegetables including melons and nuts and seafood could be in shorter supply if farmer protests worsen. That’s because currently, spirits and vinegar make up the largest food export from France to the UK at £1.
8Bn in 2023 according to Trading Economics, while cereal and flour is next at £739M and dairy including cheese, eggs and honey makes up £482M. Vegetables and nuts make and fruits such as melons make up another £200M+ of exports, while finally, meat, fish and seafood products are also popular French imports to UK supermarkets, worth £133M. Earlier this year, farmers staged protests across France and elsewhere in Europe, blocking roads and buildings to protest EU regulations and financial problems, demand fairer agricultural policies and oppose the trade agreement.
"We have the same demands as in January, nothing has changed," Armelle Fraiture told Reuters from her dairy farm north of Paris. "We must make the government understand that enough is enough." The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) is holding a mass lobby of MPs with 1,800 of its members over UK farm protests – three times as many people as originally planned – to urge backbenchers to stand up to the Government’s plans to impose inheritance tax on farms worth more than £1 million.
And thousands more are expected to join a separate rally in Whitehall as they protest against last month’s Budget, which also sped up the phase out of EU-era subsidies as funding is switched to nature-friendly farming schemes..
