EUROPEAN farmers face being clobbered by British import taxes if there's a No Deal Brexit, the EU's agriculture chief admitted today.

Phil Hogan said countries like France, Germany, Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands will be worst affected if the UK crashes out on Friday.

He announced EU27 countries enjoy a £21.5billion-a-year trading surplus in food and drink products with the UK – more than with the rest of the world.

A number of European leaders, most notably Emmanuel Macron, are taking a hardline stance towards Britain in the run-up to Wednesday's summit.

The UK Government has announced plans to impose import taxes on some agricultural goods arriving from Europe if there's no deal.

Mr Hogan said: "The published tariff schedule includes relatively high tariffs on a number of animal products.

"It's clear a number of member states will bear the brunt of these tariffs because of their exposure already to the UK market for these products."

He added: "The EU27 and the UK are very significant trading partners. No Deal makes no sense – there's too much at stake."

Farmers selling products including beef, poultry, pork, cheese, mushrooms, sugar and rice will be the worst affected.

As a result, senior EU officials warned Britain could face shortages of fresh food and price hikes if we leave without an agreement in place.

One top Eurocrat working on the bloc's No Deal planning said: "The UK is hugely reliant on imports from the EU.

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"For particular products like fruit and vegetables there's no alternative source ready, so there's an interest in ensuring this trade can continue.

"UK consumers and retailers will be very severely impacted in the event of serious disruption.

"Products they buy on a daily basis wouldn't be available. We prepare for the worst case scenarios so we have to assume there would be significant impact."

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