British food exports to the EU fell by almost half

British food and beverage exports to European Union markets fell by almost half in the first quarter of this year, according to a recent survey by the British Food and Drink Association (FDF) on Friday. Britain withdrew from the European Union on 31 January last year, and the 11-month transition period, which began after the end of British EU membership (Brexit), during which the rules for trade with the EU remained largely unchanged, ended on 31 December. At the same time, British membership of the EU's single internal market and customs union ended. According to a FDF survey, the value of British food and drink exported to EU markets in the first quarter of this year was 47 per cent lower than in the same period last year. Exports from the UK food and drink sector fell sharply in almost all EU countries, according to the organisation's report on Friday. Exports to Ireland fell by more than two-thirds and the value of food and beverages exported to the German, Spanish and Italian ...