Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

The UK government will struggle to implement its flagship commitment to remove red tape for food and drink exports to the EU because of poor preparation and staff shortages, the boss of the UK’s food industry lobby has warned.

Labour has promised to strike a so-called ‘veterinary agreement’ with Brussels by the end of this year, but the Food and Drink Federation said that Whitehall had been far too slow to engage with business following a landmark summit in Windsor last May.

“The UK is trying to do in two years what Switzerland did in four or five. And we’re starting from a standing start,” FDF chief executive Karen Betts told the FT, warning that timelines that were already ambitious “are now looking very tight”.

Betts said that precious months were lost after the May 2025 summit when the UK government committed to legally realigning the UK with Brussels’ highly complex sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regulations that govern plant and animal products.  

“The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs went to ground after last May’s announcement and the detailed business engagement they needed to be doing from the get-go just didn’t happen,” she said. 

While Betts credited the current Defra secretary Emma Reynolds with galvanising the department after her appointment last September, she warned there was “a lot of catching up to do” to implement an SPS agreement by the middle of 2027.

Betts said that while the UK food industry wanted a deal, the lack of clarity on implementation dates and transitional arrangements was causing “real anxiety” because factories were already making products that could be negatively impacted by new SPS rules that come into force next year.

“Companies need to know really very soon whether, for example, the flour they’re buying or the packaging they’re using will comply with EU law, because they are making decisions today about products that may not be on shop shelves for another 18 months,” she said. 

“The lack of clarity on implementation dates and transitional arrangements is causing real anxiety across the industry — from honey and tea producers to those making cake or bottling water.” 

The FDF, which represents more than 1,000 businesses in food and drink manufacturing, added that other potential complications included adjusting packaging to meet EU rules on recycling and using ingredients that no longer conformed to EU rules on pesticides and fungicides.

Recommended

The body’s concerns over the practical challenges posed by an SPS deal were echoed by other industries, including farming and chemicals, in a report published by Parliament’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee.

Alistair Carmichael, Liberal Democrat MP and committee chair, urged the government to introduce a 24-month transition period to give businesses time to adapt to new rules and regulations, or risk imposing substantial losses on foodmakers and farmers.

Pressure is mounting on Sir Keir Starmer’s government to deliver tangible economic benefits from its ‘reset’ with the UK. In recent weeks both Starmer and the chancellor Rachel Reeves have made speeches promising to move closer to Brussels to stimulate trade.

However, five years after the UK left the EU’s single market, Betts warned that reintegrating with Brussels regulations would require additional resources — and not just for companies exporting to the EU because all businesses will need to conform. 

Whitehall is currently undergoing significant budget and staff cuts, but Betts said that implementing an SPS deal would require more people. 

“We’re not sure that the scale of investment the government will need to make on an ongoing basis is well understood,” she said. “We think the government is going to have to commit more resources — particularly for Defra and the Food Standards Agency.”

The Cabinet Office said the government was fully aware of the need to give business time to transition to a new deal which it estimates will increase UK GDP by £5.1bn a year in the medium term.

“We are working closely with British farmers, producers and businesses to ensure they are prepared for the food and drink deal,” a spokesperson added.