Key facts
- The UK is vulnerable to food price shocks due to its reliance on fruit and vegetable imports from climate-vulnerable countries.
- A report by the Food Foundation charity indicates that 90% of the UK's top staple food suppliers are moderately to severely vulnerable to climate breakdown.
- The UK imports 80% of its fruit and 47% of its vegetables, a higher rate than many other large Western European countries.
- Domestic crop yields have been reduced by record heatwaves, drought, and wildfires in the UK this year.
- The Food Foundation is urging the government to invest in helping British farmers adapt to climate change and boost domestic production.
The UK's reliance on fruit and vegetable imports from nations highly susceptible to the climate crisis poses a significant risk of food price shocks, according to a report by the Food Foundation charity. This vulnerability is exacerbated by domestic crop damage resulting from a year of record heatwaves, drought, and wildfires.
The report highlights that the UK imports 80% of its fruit and 47% of its vegetables, a higher dependency than many other large Western European countries. Researchers found that 90% of the top 20 countries supplying the UK with staple foods are rated as moderately to severely vulnerable to climate breakdown. This situation is compounded by the fact that several popular fruits, such as apples, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and pears, could be grown domestically but are not produced in sufficient quantities to meet demand.
While the UK achieves high self-sufficiency in carrots (94%), there is potential to increase domestic production of other popular vegetables like tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, cucumbers, onions, broccoli, and green beans, where only about half of consumption is met domestically. Horticulture businesses are also grappling with challenges including rising energy costs, labor shortages, and changes to post-Brexit subsidies, which are hindering efforts to increase production.
Industry bodies and experts are calling on the government to implement policies that support British farmers in adapting to climate change, ensuring access to seasonal workers, securing water resources, and providing competitively priced energy. The Food Foundation advocates for increased government investment to enhance domestic production and resilience against future climate-related disruptions.