Exports of British sheep meat to Europe in May were up by almost a third on the five-year average, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board reported and trends suggest demand will continue to improve.
According to Here Majesty’s Revenue and Customs data, exports totalled 7600 tonnes during the month with the largest volume at 2700t going to France.
However, the biggest increase in trade was with Germany, which doubled shipments to 2000t, said board analyst Rebecca Oborne said.
The increase in exports likely reflected a global market with low lamb availability while prices in both New Zealand and Australia continue to be high.
“NZ is historically the largest supplier to Germany but NZ shipments have been down in volume this year,” she said.
Customs data shows NZ shipments to the EU-28 were down more than 12,000t in the first five months of 2019.
Growing global demand and falling production mean there is less meat available for the EU market, which has then influenced British exports and imports, Oborne said.
While British exports have been on the rise, imports have continued to decline, following the long-term trend.
Total imports are down 26% on the five-year average, to just 6200t.
There were some small rises in shipments from other EU nations but they were not enough to offset the lack of NZ product.
Shipments from NZ are down well over a third, reflecting the diminishing price competitiveness of NZ product in the EU and the declining availability of product.
UK Farmers Weekly
