UK Pet Food Industry Struggling To Export To The EU

UK Pet Food Industry Struggling To Export To The EU  

PFMA, the representative body for the UK pet food industry, has raised alarm bells over the severe challenges faced by pet food businesses exporting to the EU.  

A survey of the PFMA membership exposed a myriad of problems and highlighted that only one-third of businesses that had attempted exports to the EU had been successful.  

The UK pet food industry is valued at £3bn and in 2019 exported £285 million of pet food to the EU versus £45 million to the rest of the world. With exports being hugely important to the industry, businesses are being harmed.  

Michael Bellingham, PFMA Chief Executive, commented: “We have come against red tape, vet shortages and hauliers refusing to accept animal-based products in case they are stopped at the border. Many official veterinarians are unwilling to take on the extra work of certifying animal by-product consignments because they were not confident about what was required.” 

Experienced exporters and PFMA member, World Feeds Ltd, advised they had been successfully exporting to the US but had come up against numerous barriers trying to move products into the EU from 01 January. World Feeds are not alone in this experience.    

PFMA has brought these challenges to the attention of the Environment Food & Rural Affairs Select Committee and whilst it is hoped that the situation may improve over time, the concern is the challenges are more than short-term teething problems.