Red meat exports from the UK to the US in the first eight months of this year have reached £19 million, with beef making up a quarter of the shipments
The latest data from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) shows that 1,211t of beef was exported to the US between January and August of this year.
According to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), with this worth over £5 million to the sector, it makes it a successful first year since the two-decade ban on UK beef was lifted.
AHDB senior export manager for the Americas, Susana Morris, has said this is encouraging to see.
“It’s very encouraging to see more than £5 million worth of beef from the UK exported to the US in less than a year since gaining market access,” she said.
America is proving to be an attractive market for our beef as the country is experiencing high domestic consumption, rising demand from international customers and stronger demand from retail and foodservice as well as lower stocks in cold storage.
“There is also strong demand for meat in the US due in part to extra household savings – all of which presents an opportunity for us to take a larger slice of the market and grow our shipments even further.
“Pork prices in the US are also high compared to a year ago due to tight supplies and a lack of market-ready pigs, tighter production schedules and strong demand has led to lower stocks in cold storage.
“This combined with the suspension of the 25 per cent tariff earlier this year has given our exporters a fantastic boost and we look forward to seeing these figures increase.”
During the same period, over 4,600t of pigmeat was exported. This is nearly a 10% increase on last year and worth £14 million to the pork sector.
