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How much food does the UK currently produce? The DEFRA report says “Currently the UK is 60% self-sufficient in all foods and over 74% self-sufficient in foods that can be produced in this country”. This “self-sufficiency ranges from around 10% for fresh fruit to around 100% for cereals.
60% is high in the modern period. Britain was last self-sufficient in food in the first half of the 19th century. With the Empire and a commitment to free trade, Britain’s self sufficiency had dropped to 40% by 1914 and dropped to nearer 30% in the 1930s .
Nonetheless, by the 1980s Britain produced nearer 70% of her food, partly as a result of the protectionist measures such as the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, although it is worth noting that the EU restricts as well as encourages. For example, Britain could be more than self-sufficient in dairy products, but is restricted by the EU to producing even enough to meet her own needs viz.: “a phased liberalisation of EU milk production – due to come into full force in 2015 – should help the UK’s dairy farmers. Source
rice production .....none