Food and drink items Brits could struggle to get at supermarkets this winter

UK shoppers could face a shortage of several key food and drink items this winter due to farmer protests in France. As one of the UK's largest exporters, even post-Brexit, most of our imported food and drink comes from the EU.

However, French farmers have started organising protests in response to an EU deal with the Mercosur trade bloc, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia. This could potentially impact Britain.

Meanwhile, in the UK, farmers are protesting against proposed changes to Inheritance Tax on family farms, fearing it could affect their livelihoods and potentially disrupt food supplies. The government is currently devising contingency plans to ensure supermarket shelves remain stocked as landowners threaten a strike on food deliveries.

French farmers worry that the Mercosur deal, allowing duty-free imports of beef, poultry, and sugar, could create unfair competition for their locally grown produce. While there's no concrete evidence yet that food exports from France to the UK will be disrupted, if protests escalate and farmers stop working, certain food and drink categories could be affected.

Items such as cheese, honey, fruit and vegetables including melons and nuts, and seafood could potentially be in shorter supply if the farmer protests intensify, reports the Express.

In 2023, spirits and vinegar are at the forefront of France's food exports to the UK, valued at a staggering £1.8 billion according to Trading Economics. Following up, cereal and flour stand at £739 million while dairy products—encompassing cheese, eggs, and honey—comprise another £482 million.

Vegetables, nuts, and select fruits including melons add more than £200 million to the export list. Not to be overlooked, meat, fish, and seafood delicacies, popular in UK supermarkets, represent a significant import at £133 million.

Earlier this year, French farmers manifested their discontent through widespread protests across France and other European regions, where they blocked thoroughfares and buildings. Their actions aimed at contesting EU policies, financial hardships, demanding fairer agricultural legislation, and opposing trade agreements.

"We have the same demands as in January, nothing has changed," declared Armelle Fraiture, a dairy farmer based north of Paris, in her interview with Reuters. "We must make the government understand that enough is enough."

As for Britain, the National Farmers' Union (NFU) has organised an extensive assembly to lobby MPs, with participation numbers hitting 1,800—a figure threefold greater than initial estimates. Their objective remains to persuade members of parliament to resist the government's move towards levying inheritance tax on farms exceeding £1 million in value.

Furthermore, a multitude of protesters are expected to convene in a separate demonstration in Whitehall to voice opposition against the new Budget announced last month. The Budget accelerates the termination of EU-era farming subsidies, transitioning those funds to more environmentally favourable farming initiatives.