PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(9 March 2026)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her department is taking to help ensure that risk in the food supply chain, for example in relation to drought and flooding, is not disproportionately shouldered by producers.

Asked by:
Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat)

The Border Target Operating Model Impact Assessment frames economic analysis around business costs/benefits, check rates, and biosecurity risk. It does not model or quantify changes in food import volumes attributable to the post‑2020/BTOM border processes.

Defra publishes statistics on overseas trade of food, feed and drink imports (Chapter 13: Overseas trade - GOV.UK).

UK agri‑food import patterns are influenced by various factors, making it difficult to attribute changes to border processes alone. The latest official statistics show that in 2024 the value of UK food, feed and drink imports rose by 6.6% to £64.1 billion, with fresh fruit and vegetable imports increasing 12% over the same period.

Answered by:
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