Beef market update in the UK: Stable market despite bumper January imports

Frozen Bone-In Beef

Meat

United Kingdom

Market & Price Trends

Published Mar 23, 2024

Tridge summary

In January 2024, the UK saw a significant increase in beef imports, reaching 23,900 tonnes, a 29% rise from December and a 34% increase from the previous year. This is the highest level of beef imports for the month of January in the last decade, largely driven by Irish products, specifically frozen boneless and fresh boneless beef. Despite this surge, the GB marketplace remained stable with GB farmgate cattle prices continuing to rise. Additionally, the UK exported 8,900 tonnes of fresh and frozen beef in January, marking a 9% increase from December and a 5% year-on-year increase.

Disclaimer: The above summary was generated by a state-of-the-art LLM model and is intended for informational purposes only. It is recommended that readers refer to the original article for more context.

Original content

During the first month of 2024, the UK imported 23,900 tonnes (product weight) of fresh and frozen beef. This was 29% (5,300 tonnes) more than was imported during December and 34% (6,000 tonnes) more compared to January 2023. This is the highest level of beef imports for the month of January in at least the last decade. Source: HMRC, compiled by Trade Data Monitor LLC Growth in imports both on the month and the year were driven by Irish product. Versus December, the uplift was driven by a steep increase in frozen boneless product (Dutch and Polish volumes also grew but to a lesser extent). Fresh boneless Irish beef also saw a notable increase, continuing the trend seen throughout 2023. Fresh bone-in beef ticked up significantly but from a lower base, also driven by Irish. When comparing to January 2023, the quantity of fresh boneless beef imported was significantly higher. Source: HMRC, compiled by Trade Data Monitor LLC The price difference between GB and Irish cattle remains ...

Source: Ahdb