Where does the UK import its food from?

Answer 1

As we have a temperate climate, we cannot grow tropical fruits, or even citrus fruits, so that is one obvious reason. We grow apples and pears, berries including strawberries, but it is often useful to get fruit from other parts of the world, for seasonal reasons, so when it is winter we can get fruit from south hemisphere countries such as South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Bananas mainly come from the Caribbean.

Vegetables such as potatoes, beans, cabbage etc all grow well in England, but again it is useful out of season to get fresh produce. For example we get early potatoes from Egypt, which come in early in the year, whereas English ones are not ready until mid summer.

Answer 2

They import a third of their food because the climate doesn't allow them to grow the necessary food which their population has come to expect. Just so everyone is clear, import means they buy in things, export means they sell out.

Affluent and more technically advanced societies, such as the UK, have escaped from the effects of seasonality and food availability by means of a strong cash economy, modern food processing and storage techniques and the worldwide transportation of foodstuffs (Prentice & Cole, 1994).

Imports are CHEAP!

Answer 3

Simply because we have neither sufficient free land, or suitable temperatures and climate to enable us to grow all the different crops we eat. We keep expanding housing estates into 'green-belt land' without caring that it reduces the amount of food we can actually grown here.

Answer 4

It has no choice - the population to fertile growing area is just not enough to support the population. It has to for its citizens to survive

Answer 5

It cannot produce enough by itself to feed its own population and many of the things that people in the United Kingdom like to eat and cannot be grown or produced in the United Kingdom.

Answer 6

All over the world.