Sheep meat imports up; beef imports down
Sheepmeat imports surged to 7,700t in December – a jump of 27% compared with the year before, due to considerably cheaper import prices.
The increase was driven by a 35% rise in shipments from New Zealand, with unit values down by 22% on the year, said a report by AHDB Meat Services. However, greater domestic availability also led to a 13% rise in exports, with increased trade to non-EU markets in particular.
Beef imports declined by 12%, year-on-year, to 20,500t. “Shipments from Ireland declined 12%, as supplies continued to be tight, and volumes from the Netherlands were back almost a third,” said the report. Exports were 6% behind last year, at 10,500t. “For the full year, volumes were down 16%, affected by domestic availability and high prices.”
In the pig sector, imports were lower than last year, mainly due to a third fewer Danish imports. But exports continued to make strong progress, with sales for the whole of 2012 up by 7%, to the highest level since 2000. “China was again the key growth market in December, taking the second largest volume of UK exports for the second consecutive month.”
Greater responsibility needed in global lamb supply chain
Market report