Summary
The UK Food Statistics Pocketbook, produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), is an annual compendium of key statistics describing the UK food system. It draws on multiple official data sources to present accessible headline figures on food consumption, affordability, trade, and industry performance. The publication serves primarily as a reference tool for policymakers, researchers, and analysts requiring a consolidated overview of UK food system trends.
UK applicability
This publication is entirely UK-focused and directly applicable to UK policy and research contexts. It provides the authoritative official statistical baseline against which food system interventions, dietary trends, and food security debates in the UK are assessed.
Key measures
Household food expenditure (£); food and drink trade volumes and values (£bn); food security indicators; consumer price indices; food poverty metrics; supply chain employment figures
Outcomes reported
The pocketbook reports headline statistics on UK food and drink, covering household expenditure, food security indicators, supply chain data, consumption patterns, and trade balances. It provides a snapshot of the UK food system across production, retail, and consumer dimensions.
Topic tags
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