UK food and drink trade deficit largest since 2000 at £21bn

Industry leaders call on government to protect homegrown produce in the interest of national securityThe gap between Britain’s food and drink exports and imports has neared its highest this century, as a combination of Brexit, war in the Middle East and US tariffs dented deliveries overseas while imports soared.The UK’s food and drink trade deficit has risen to more than £21bn – the largest since 2000 – in what indu…