Key industry data

Infographic

The UK food & drink manufacturing sector employs more than 117,000 EU workers almost 1/3 of our workforce
The UK is Ireland's largest trading partner for food and drink. 41%of its food & drink exports go to the UK (€4.4bn)
Food & drink contributes £28.8bn to the economy
Soft drink companies have reduced sugars & calories from their products by 18% since 2012
With the support of industry, the UK Government has set up the most ambitious sugars reduction programme anywhere in the world to help lower sugar in the national diet
The food & drink industry is the biggest manufacturing sector in the country...larger than automotive & aerospace combined
In 2017, total food & drink export figures were worth more than £22bn
Grow exports of branded food and non-alcoholic drink by a third...reaching £6bn by 2020
Our top three export markets are Ireland, USA & France
The food supply chain employs almost 4 million people & generates over £112 billion of value for the economy each year
97% of our businesses are SMEs
Our industry employs around 400,000 people
We will need 140,000 new recruits by 2024 to feed an expected population of 70m people & meet market demands
Our industry has a turnover of £97.3bn accounting for 19% of total UK manufacturing
FDF has pledged to triple apprenticeships within the food & drink industry by 2020

Last reviewed: 10 May 2018