Environmental News Network - One Third of UK Fruit and Vegetables are Imported from Climate-Vulnerable Countries

Details: By London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine; 09.Nov

The UK’s supply of fruit and vegetables has become increasingly reliant on imports from countries vulnerable to climate change, according to a new study in Nature Food.

Cheryl Porter

The UK’s supply of fruit and vegetables has become increasingly reliant on imports from countries vulnerable to climate change, according to a new study in Nature Food.

The research, led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), involved analysing open-source data on food trade from 1987-2013. They estimated that the domestic contribution to total fruit and vegetable supply in the UK has decreased from 42% in 1987 to 22% in 2013, while at the same time imports of fruit and vegetables from climate-vulnerable countries have increased from 20% in 1987 to 32% in 2013.

The team found that the variety of fruits and vegetables imported into the UK has increased, and that there have been major shifts in the types of fruits and vegetables supplied to the UK market: tropical fruits have become more popular, but the supply of traditional vegetables has significantly declined.

Photo Credit: ElasticComputeFarm via Pixabay

Magazine menu

One Third of UK Fruit and Vegetables are Imported from Climate-Vulnerable Countries