Israeli avocados and Dutch pizza: UK import trends in 2018

Among the more astounding results is the fact that the UK imports more pizza from the Netherlands than from Italy. Italy may only provide Britain with 5% of its £223 million worth of pizza imports, but it accounts for 94% of the UK’s imported pasta. Most of the UK’s pizza is provided by Germany, France and Spain.

Between January and June 2018, the UK imported 21 million tonnes of food, its food and drinks imports for the first half of the year valued at £22,543,13,333. £5,440,656,736 of that comes in the form of fruit and vegetable imports. Spain, which the study found to be the UK’s biggest food and drink exporter, provides nearly a fifth of that, with 11% from the Netherlands and 5% from South Africa. Spain, as it were, exported a total of £1,028,207,497 worth of food and drink in the first six months of the year. When it comes to avocados, which have been trending for the past few years, the biggest exporter to the UK, by far, is Israel.

The UK’s meat market relies heavily on Ireland, which provides 10% of the UK’s chicken imports and 67% of its beef imports. The Irish also play a role in the UK’s cheese world, exporting 24% of the £817,433,785 worth of cheese that the UK brought in. Ireland is followed in cheese exports by France, which is closely followed by Italy. Although cheddar is a proudly British cheese, the UK imported £143,824,569 of cheddar cheese between January and June. When it comes to chocolate, Belgium falls surprisingly low. Both Poland and Germany export more chocolate to the UK than Belgium, with Germany sending almost twice as much. The UK imported 172,243,422 kg of chocolate, valued at £597 million, which can be added to the £408 million of other cocoa products that the UK brought in.

UK wine imports are less shocking, with the biggest contributors made up of France, Australia, Italy, the United States, and New Zealand, all countries that are known for their vineyards. Beer imports, however, are a little more surprising. Mexico is the biggest exporter of beer to the UK, sending £51,934,573 worth of beer, followed by Ireland’s £45,072,115.

The study pulled up plenty of interesting import quirks that reveal how strange the world food market really is. Antarctica, for instance, exports to the UK, even if their only export is £7,911 worth of herbs and spices. The UK spends more on importing seeds from Romania (£52 million) than they do on importing bananas and plantains from Columbia (around £50 million). Papua New Guinea provides the UK with £37,374,530 worth of oil.

While the study is a good source of fascinating facts, it also serves as a comprehensive understanding of the UK’s food needs. Only six months away, Brexit brings into question how these import habits may change in the near future. The majority of food imports come from the EU and with negotiations still on the table and no concrete plan in place, the UK sits in a precarious position. Britain relies on food imports to meet market demand and needs to ensure it remains a fixture of the global economy.