Bread supply blow: UK reliant on record wheat imports after poor harvests

takes its toll on wheat harvests. Between 2020 and 2024, the shortfall reached over seven million tonnes – enough to bake more than four billion loaves. That works out at 64 loaves per person, more than a year’s supply for every Briton. “I have never known a more challenging time to farm,” says Lincolnshire arable farmer Colin Chappell, who is now facing his second disastrous harvest in succession. The problem shows little sign of easing. With another poor harvest forecast for 2025 after record hot and dry conditions, the UK is expected to become even more reliant on imports. Last autumn, wheat imports doubled compared to the five-year average, with self-sufficiency slumping from 96% in 2023 to just 79% in 2024. Tom Lancaster, land, food and farming analyst at ECIU, said: “This decade has already seen some of the worst harvests on record after extreme rainfall made it impossible for farmers to drill and manage crops. “And this year we’ve seen the opposite as crops suffered in the ...