Beef imports into the UK drop by 3% in 2020
The amount of beef imported into the UK dropped by 3% during 2020, according to the latest figures from HMRC.
As also reported by the Livestock and Meat Commission for Northern Ireland (LMC), the UK imported 242,837 tonnes of beef, 3% down on 2019 levels and a 16% reduction when compared to 2018.
Imports from the EU continue to account for the majority of beef imports into the UK with 237,928 tonnes imported during 2020. This accounts for 98% of total beef imports into the UK during this period and has declined by 2,055 tonnes or 1% when compared to 2019 and 35,366 tonnes or 13% when compared to 2018.
Most of the beef imports to the UK from the EU come from Ireland, followed by Poland and the Netherlands, with these three countries accounting for 93% of beef imports from the EU in 2020.
Ireland continues to be the largest source of beef imports from the EU by far with 190,974 tonnes of beef imported during the 2020 period. This accounts for 80% of the total UK beef imports from the EU.
The amount of beef imported to the UK from Ireland has decreased by 1% when compared to the 192,092 tonnes of beef imported from this region in 2019 and a greater 9% when compared to the 210,493 tonnes imported during 2018.
The second largest source of beef imports to the UK from the EU was Poland with 15,203 tonnes of beef imported during 2020. This is similar to 2019 levels.
The Netherlands was the third largest source of beef from the EU during 2020 with 14,947 tonnes of beef imported to the UK during 2020. This has decreased by 12% when compared to 2019 and a more significant 23% when compared to 2018.
Beef imports to the UK from non-EU countries totalled 4,909 tonnes during 2020 which accounts for 2% of total beef imports during this time. This has decreased by 55% from 2019 and over 70% from 2018 levels.
The majority of non-EU beef imports were sourced from South American countries with a total of 3,330 tonnes imported from Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina in 2020. This accounts for 68% of the imports from non-EU countries and just over 1% of total beef imports to the UK in 2020.
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