A combine harvester works through a cereal crop as concerns grow over Britain’s increasing reliance on imported food
Britain is becoming increasingly reliant on imported food, with self-sufficiency falling across 10 of 11 everyday staples over the past 30 years.
The NFU said the decline includes foods such as wheat, vegetables, beef, poultry meat and eggs, while UK agri-food import volumes have risen by 70% over the same period. Export volumes, meanwhile, have largely stalled.
The findings are contained in the union's Ready to Grow report, published on Back British Farming Day (9 September), which calls for formal government targets for domestic food production.
It argues that clearer long-term policy is needed to protect food security, encourage investment and give farmers greater certainty.
NFU president Tom Bradshaw said: “Our report today paints a stark picture of falling production and an increasing reliance on imported food while at the same time the world is becoming more unstable. We can’t rely on the rest of the world to feed us.”
The report also highlights growing financial pressure across the farming sector.
Analysis of 2024/25 data found that 65% of wheat and barley grown on cereal farms came from farm businesses operating at a loss.
On lowland livestock farms, only 26% of some sheep products came from profitable farm groups, according to the report.
Those figures do not include the impact of two years of drought, bluetongue disease or higher fuel, fertiliser and energy costs linked to the conflict in Iran.
This year's historically poor wheat harvest is estimated to have caused a gross production value loss of around ÂŁ370 million.
Below-normal growth on temporary grassland has also created a potential forage shortfall of about 196,300 tonnes on a dry matter basis so far this year.
Replacing that lost forage with purchased supplies could cost farmers around ÂŁ34 million.
The report also estimates that higher costs linked to the conflict in Iran could add approximately ÂŁ303 million a year to the UK's nitrogen fertiliser bill and around ÂŁ200 million annually to the red diesel bill.
Bradshaw said farmers were being squeezed by a combination of extreme weather, disease, rising costs and uncertainty over government policy.
“Farmers are battling devastating drought, disease outbreaks and soaring costs. At the same time, policy uncertainty, chronic underinvestment and a restrictive planning system are eroding Britain’s ability to produce its own food. This must and can be reversed.”
Public support for domestic food production also remains high, according to polling cited in the report.
A OnePoll survey of 2,000 adults in England and Wales, conducted between 23 May and 4 June 2025, found 93% believed it was important to maintain or increase UK food self-sufficiency.
Despite concerns over falling self-sufficiency and farm profitability, agriculture continues to make a substantial contribution to the wider economy.
Agricultural gross value added has risen by 57% in England and 55% in Wales in real terms since 1998, according to figures included in the report.
The wider UK food and drink sector is worth ÂŁ162.3 billion and supports 4.1 million jobs.
The report argues that farmers could increase production and contribute further economic growth if barriers to investment, planning and expansion were reduced.
Among the immediate proposals is a government-backed, interest-free 'Keep Britain Growing' loan for farms affected by drought.
The scheme would be designed to provide businesses with working capital ahead of next year's production.
Financial support is also being sought for livestock farmers affected by bluetongue, particularly to help meet increased fallen-stock collection and disposal costs.
Longer-term proposals include defined government targets for domestic food production and core production standards applying to both UK-produced and imported food sold in Britain.
Changes to the planning and tax systems are also being sought to encourage investment, alongside greater certainty over Seasonal Worker Scheme visas and increased use of British food and ingredients in public procurement.
Bradshaw said: “With the right backing, they can do even more. Clearly defined targets for food production and a set of core standards are the start. A planning system that enables growth and a tax system that recognises the need to invest are crucial.”
The report also calls for closer work with Defra's Farming and Food Partnership Board to improve competitiveness across the agricultural sector.
“We want to work with Defra’s Farming and Food Partnership Board to build a competitive sector, one that realises its ambitions and unlocks growth in every part of the country,” Bradshaw said.
“This matters today on Back British Farming Day, and it matters for tomorrow and the 29 million households needing affordable, safe food.”