Several hundred tonnes of beetroot have been left to rot on Will Woodhall's farm in central England due to Brexit.

Sugar cane importer Tate & Lyle Sugars, which was very vocal in supporting the campaign to Leave the European Union, is set to benefit from several government measures. / Former Brexit secretary, David Davis, worked for Tate & Lyle Sugars for almost two decades.

Ministers have approved the emergency use of neonicotinoids against the advice of their own experts in a move branded ‘unacceptable’ by environmental groups.

The government has been warned to abandon its proposed tariff-free quota for raw cane sugar imports because of its potential to undercut UK growers.

East Anglia’s sugar beet farmers fear an “unjustified and unnecessary” new zero-tariff quota on imported cane sugar could expose them to unfair competition from less-regulated overseas growers.

The vote to leave the EU has sparked a clash between sugar-cane importers and farmers producing homegrown sugar beet. Is this bitter skirmish a microcosm of the big battles to come?

They produce half the country’s sugar needs, but expect new trade deals to make their tough situation worse.