UK food and drink manufacturers have urged the government to help remove “roadblocks” to continued growth, and to protect the UK’s food security.

A new Powering Communities report from the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has revealed that, according to the latest ONS (Office for National Statistics) data, the food and drink manufacturing sector grew 17.9% over the last decade.

The industry now contributes £37bn per year to the UK economy, accounting for almost a quarter (24.2%) of total UK manufacturing turnover.

The report also quantified the food and drink manufacturing sector’s role as a major employer, providing almost half a million (486,500) jobs in the UK’s 12,195 food and drink businesses. 

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Employment in the sector is growing, with 41,000 new jobs across the UK since 2018. The number of food and drink manufacturing businesses in the UK also rose by 14% between 2019 and 2024.

However, according to the latest FDF State of Industry report, confidence declined to -47% in the fourth quarter of 2024 on account of growing inflationary pressures, barriers to trade, and upcoming Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) fees for packaging.

The FDF is now urging government to take action to address barriers to growth, which it claims include low investment in innovation, falling food and drink export volumes, and lack of access to highly skilled talent.

FDF director of corporate affairs, communications and packaging Jim Bligh said: “Our industry is vital to ensuring we have a thriving food system here in the UK, providing high-quality, affordable food. And we are a major part of the UK’s wider manufacturing sector, offering good careers, driving investment, and promoting international trade.

“But with food and drink businesses under increasing pressure, we’ve reached a pivotal moment where government must act to safeguard this foundational sector’s future growth and the UK’s food security. We’ve set out more than 40 steps government can take to remove unnecessary roadblocks to growth for the benefit of every community in the UK.”

FDF has set out six key asks from the industry to the government. These include to secure a fair share of the UK’s research and development (R&D) spend for food and drink manufacturing, to co-create a workforce and skills plan with Skills England, and to simplify the R&D tax credits system.

Other requests include to ringfence the £1.4bn annual cost of EPR, to prioritise a more strategic approach to EU trade relations, and to simplify regulations and remove unnecessary red tape.