Exports of olive oil from Spain to the United Kingdom fell by 35 percent in January and February compared with the same period in 2020, according to Spain’s Union of Farmers and Livestock Unions.
The statistics give the first analysis of the impact of the post-Brexit trade deal between the EU and Britain on Spanish agri-food exports to the U.K. The union warned that further sharp falls in exports can be expected because of sanitary and phytosanitary requirements that came into effect in April.
According to the U.K.’s Office of National Statistics in March, imports from the E.U. fell by 28 percent in the first two months of the year. The imports are tariff-free but there are additional hygiene requirements.
Agri-food exports from Spain fell by 4.9 percent, with sales of fats and oils being particularly affected.