The U.K. is a net importer of food, feed, and drinks (FFD) (i.e., imports are higher than exports)[1]. In 2021, as reported in the Agriculture in the United Kingdom data sets (Gov UK), the U.K.’s value of FFD exports to all countries was estimated at $25.2 billion USD. At the same time, the U.K. imported from all sources $57 billion USD worth of FFD. The top five suppliers of FFD to the U.K. were the Netherlands (10%), France (9.0%), Irish Republic (8.5%), Spain (7.1%), and Germany (6.8%). The U.S. was the 9th largest supplier of FFD to the U.K. with 2.6% of total imports. Fruits and vegetable preparations represented the top value group of commodities included in U.K. imports of FFD in 2021 at $13.0 billion USD, followed by beverages ($7.73 billion USD) and meat and meat preparations ($7.18 billion USD) (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. U.K. Total Trade Value of Food, Feed, and Drinks (FFD) in 2021 (Billion USD)
According to USDA-FAS, the United Kingdom was the 14th largest export market for U.S. agricultural commodities in 2021. Data from USDA-FAS indicates that U.S. agricultural exports to the U.K. were worth $1.78 billion in 2022, which was down 1.6% year-over-year. The top five U.S. commodities exported to the U.K. in 2022 were wine and related products ($166.4 million USD), ethanol (non-beverage) ($161.9 million USD), tree nuts ($161.8 million USD), distilled spirits ($158.6 million USD), soybeans ($119.4 million USD), food preparations ($118.9 million USD). Other commodities among the top ten value U.S. agricultural commodities exported to the U.K. include: essential oils ($66.5 million USD), seafood products ($63.4 million USD), dextrin, peptones, & proteins ($63.4 million USD), and bakery goods, cereals, & pasta ($51.0 million USD).
Although in 2022 wine and related products were the top value U.S. agricultural commodities exported to the U.K., they declined in value by $45.8 million USD compared with 2021. U.S. exports to the U.K. also declining in value by more than $10 million USD were food preparations, essential oils, and tree nuts, which were down by $32.6 million USD, $12.8 million USD, and $10.5 million USD, respectively.
On the other hand, U.S. commodities exported to the U.K. increasing in value by more than $50.0 million USD in 2022 relative to the previous year were ethanol (up $59.6 million USD), soybeans (up $54.6 million USD), and distilled spirits (up $51.9 million USD) (see Figure 2).
Considering total U.S. agricultural commodity exports to the world, including bulk, intermediate, and consumer oriented in 2022 ($196.04 billion USD), exports of U.S. agricultural commodities to the U.K. ($1.78 billion USD) had a share of 0.9%; however, among the top ten US agricultural commodities exported to the U.K., wine and related products and distilled spirits made up 11.4% and 7.7%, respectively, of total U.S. exports of these two commodities.
Figure 2. U.S. Top Ten Agricultural Exports to United Kingdom (Million USD)
[1] Among all categories included in the food, feed, and drinks (FFD) group, only in one of them, beverages, exports have exceeded imports during the last 12 years.