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UK faces food supply risk as climate-hit countries dominate imports
The Food Foundation estimates the UK imports about 40% of its food, including 80% of fruit and 47% of vegetables, leaving fresh supplies vulnerable to climate-driven yield losses.
The Food Foundation has warned that the UK is exposed to food price shocks because it relies heavily on imports of fruit and vegetables from countries that are already under greater climate pressure, even though the UK produces enough grains, meat, milk, and eggs to cover its needs, the group said in a report published Wednesday.
According to the Food Foundation, about 40% of the UK’s food is imported, including 80% of its fruit and 47% of its vegetables, rates that it says are among the highest reliance on imported fruit in Europe.
The charity linked the risk to hotter, drier conditions damaging crops and lowering yields, citing the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change forecast that rising temperatures will bring lower yields, more heat stress for plants, and poorer quality produce, particularly across the Mediterranean, North Africa, and parts of South and Central America.
The Food Foundation said it is calling on the government to invest more in helping British farmers adapt to the changing climate to boost domestic production, and it pointed to additional concerns raised in recent months by the Cold Chain Federation and other experts, including extreme weather, fuel shortages, and cyber-attacks that could disrupt supplies into the UK.