The NFU is calling on government to set ambitious targets for homegrown food, after publishing a report highlighting increased reliance on imports to meet UK food consumption needs.
The UK’s self-sufficiency in 10 out of 11 everyday foods, such as wheat, vegetables, beef, poultry meat and eggs have fallen in the last 30 years, a new report from the NFU reveals today, which is ‘Back British Farming Day’, celebrating the nation’s food producers
As a results, the country’s reliance on imported food continues to grow, with agri-food import volumes up 70% over the period while export volumes have stalled.
With 93% of British households agreeing that it’s important to maintain or increase UK food self-sufficiency, according to a recent OnePoll online survey, the NFU says the public’s message is clear. It is ‘offering government a clear alternative and a route away from a growing food security crisis’ in its Ready to Grow report3.
The report underlines the need for action to ensure farmers can meet the public’s demand, as it shows that much of Britain’s food is being produced at a loss.
At a time when the UK pig sector is enduring a period of low prices, heavy losses and market turmoil, driven by mass contract notices, the NFU highlights that:
- 65% of wheat and barley grown on cereal farms came from farm businesses operating at loss.
- On lowland livestock farms, only 26% of some sheep products came from profitable farm groups.
This comes at a time when the worst drought in 50 years is set to cost wheat growers £370 million, while the UK’s largest-ever bluetongue outbreak and soaring fuel, fertiliser and energy costs linked to the conflict in Iran are pushing farm finances to breaking point.
Despite this, agriculture’s gross value added (GVA) has risen by 57% in England and 55% in Wales since 1998, helping power the UK’s largest manufacturing sector, food and drink, worth £162.3 billion and supporting 4.1 million jobs.
NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: “Our report today paints a stark picture of falling production and an increasing reliance on imported food while at the same time the world is becoming more unstable. We can’t rely on the rest of the world to feed us.
“Successive governments have sleepwalked into making it harder to produce food at home, leaving Britain increasingly reliant on imports produced to standards that would be illegal here. The food scare in eggs in recent weeks is a tragic reminder of what happens when we get this wrong.
“Farmers are battling devastating drought, disease outbreaks and soaring costs. At the same time, policy uncertainty, chronic underinvestment and a restrictive planning system are eroding Britain’s ability to produce its own food. This must and can be reversed.
“UK agriculture also receives less government support than farmers in the EU, US, Canada and New Zealand, and less than half the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) average7.
“Despite these pressures, British farmers continue to deliver jobs, growth and food, while playing a crucial role in supporting rural communities, as their firefighting efforts this summer have shown. With the right backing, they can do even more. Clearly defined targets for food production and a set of core standards are the start. A planning system that enables growth and a tax system that recognises the need to invest are crucial.
“We want to work with Defra’s Farming and Food Partnership Board to build a competitive sector, one that realises its ambitions and unlocks growth in every part of the country. This matters today on Back British Farming Day, and it matters for tomorrow and the 29 million households needing affordable, safe food.”
- You can read the NFU’s Ready to Grow: Unlocking British Farming’s Economic Potential report 2026 HERE.
Actions identified in the report include:
- A government backed, interest-free ‘Keep Britain Growing’ loan, linked to losses caused by drought, to give farm businesses the working capital to produce next year’s food.
- Support to help livestock farmers affected by bluetongue disease meet the rising costs of fallen stock collection and disposal.
- Defined government targets for domestic food production to provide certainty and direction – balancing food production with the targets that already exist for protecting the environment.
- A set of core production standards to be established that apply to both domestically produced and imported food sold in the UK.
- An increase in the Annual Investment Allowance to at least £5m and extension of its scope to include assets qualifying for Structures and Buildings Allowance to support longer-term investments in efficiency and productivity improvements, including regarding energy and water usage.
- The planning system to be a mechanism that enables growth and innovation, not a barrier to improving high welfare and sustainable food production.
- The Farming and Food Partnership Board’s sector growth plans to include an inbuilt ambition to drive growth by building competitiveness across the industry.
- Access to the right people for skilled work.
- Completion of work on supply chain fairness, including continued scrutiny of unfair practices and ensuring the cost of regulation is acknowledged and fairly shared.
- Assurance the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism will not raise the cost of domestic food production or undermine confidence to invest.