Irish sheepmeat exports to the UK in May of this year were up 45% compared to the same month last year, AHDB the organisation for the English beef and sheep industry says.
It attributes this increase in sheepmeat volumes to the weak euro making imports more competitive.
While volumes from Ireland were up on last year, overall imports of sheepmeat going into the UK in May fell by almost a quarter to 8,300t, AHDB says.
New Zealand exports to the UK were down almost a third on last year (29%) at 6,000t, this is due to Kiwi production starting to slow in April, it says.
There was also a 6% decline in shipments from Australia to the UK year-on-year, AHDB says.
The average value of shipments in May fell year-on-year, leading to the total value of sheepmeat imports in the month to be down by over a quarter at £34.2m, it says.
According to AHDB, in the year to date, at 49,400t, imports are now back 2%Â on the same period in 2014.
Image: HMRC/GTIS
ExportsÂ
Exports of sheepmeat to Ireland for May 2015 were up 18% on last year and exports to Germany also increased by 11%, AHDB says.
Shipments to France are recorded as being down 17% at 2,700t and overall, sheepmeat export figures for May show sharp falls year-on-year, AHDB says.
Volumes out of the UK were down by 29% on the year at 5,300t with much of the reported fall as a result of a drop in trade to Hong Kong, which was sharply down compared to the previous year for the ninth consecutive month, it says.
