World Food Life

‘No Deal Brexit’ could see hike in fruit and vegetable prices

Following a healthy diet could prove to be more challenging in the new year, with research highlighting that new trade tariffs in the event of a “no deal Brexit” would increase the price of fruit and vegetables in the UK. Analysis of ongoing research from charity The Food Foundation and global research programme Sustainable & Healthy Food Systems (SHEFS), points to how the price of fruit and vegetables in the UK could increase by an average of 4% from 1 January 2021. Prices for some products could rise by even more, with the research showing that tomatoes, for example, would become 9% more expensive. In terms of costs to families

looking to follow a healthy diet, the research says the trade tariffs would result in an increase of up to £28 a year to a family of four’s (two adults and two children) fruit and vegetable bill. If families increased their consumption to the recommended five-a-day, this would cost £65 per year more for a family of four under a ‘No Deal’ scenario. The SHEFS is led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). Alan Dangour, professor of food and nutrition for global health, LSHTM, and director of the Centre on Climate Change and Planetary Health, said: "These new analyses show that under a ‘no deal Brexit’ it could become

even more expensive in the UK to eat a healthy diet. The UK is heavily reliant on fruit and vegetables from the EU and the government’s inability to define a post-Brexit deal is putting the nutritional health of the nation at risk." Dr Soledad Cuevas, also from LSHTM, added: "This is the first time the newly published UK general tariffs are used to estimate the potential impact of Brexit on the cost of fruit and veg imports. Although it’s hard to know how much of these cost increases will be passed on to consumers, these preliminary results are worrying, both for consumers and for producers."