Our team aims to beef up exports
Exports play an important part in making sure beef and sheep producers get the best prices for their livestock and help find markets for parts of the carcase for which there is little or no demand at home.
In 2017, UK beef exports were worth £490 million and sheep meat exports £384 million, with non-EU exports, which are of growing importance in the run-up to Brexit, increasing for both sectors.
At AHDB, we have an export team who manage a full programme of overseas events and trade shows to maintain demand for UK beef and lamb in existing export markets and help us gain access to new ones. These trade shows play an important role in boosting exports of red meat by ensuring that quality products from the UK are at the forefront of buyer’s minds around the world.
Asia has been a key focus for UK red meat exports in recent years, with a 230 per cent increase in the volume of high-value, chilled beef exported to Hong Kong in the last year, more than triple the value of the market just two years ago.
This year is already proving to be eventful from an export perspective, with Theresa May announcing an agreement to work towards resuming beef exports to China during a trade mission in January. The current restrictions could be lifted within six months if a visit from Chinese inspectors this spring is successful, clearing the way for the completion of a five-step process to open the market.
This is great news for beef producers and processors, as the major Chinese market could be worth £250 million for our industry in the first five years.
Hot on the heels of the China agreement was the announcement that approval has been granted to export UK lamb to Saudi Arabia in a deal that could be worth £25 million over the next five years. Exports of sheep meat are expected to begin imminently once export certification is finalised and released, making it a very positive development for the UK sheep industry.
While Europe is still a vital market for our exports, it is important that we build on our strong global position in the run up to Brexit by increasing the number of non-EU markets we are able to access. Hopefully by the end of 2018 we will see quality beef and lamb from the UK on dinner plates in even more countries around the world!
Clive Brown is AHDB Beef and Lamb Head of Regional Development
