DUBLIN: The volume of Irish beef sold into the UK marketplace declined by 20% in July, recent figures from the AHDB (the body for British beef and lamb) show. The UK is largest buyer of Irish beef and in 2015 it accounted for 52% of all Irish beef exports valued at more than €1 billion euro.
According to the AHDB, the weaker Sterling, which has been seen since the Brexit vote was passed in June, has made beef sourced from Ireland and other euro countries more expensive to UK buyers.
And due to the weaker Sterling and more of a focus on domestically produced beef, the total volume of beef imported into the UK declined by 17% or 3,994t in July 2016 compared to the year earlier. Along with a fall in the volume of beef imported from Ireland, the AHDB also shows that shipments from the Netherlands and Poland declined by 40% and 30% respectively during the month of July.
The AHDB also reports that the lower volume of beef imported into the UK has helped to strengthen the domestic demand for beef, while the value and volume of beef exported from the UK increased by 10% and 1% respectively during July 2016 on last year’s levels.
