Higher product availability helped lead to a 14 per cent year-on-year rise in UK exports of lamb and mutton in the first half of 2013.
The UK exported 47,268 tonnes of lamb and mutton, worth £177 million in the period. Exports to Greater China played a significant role with shipments up 93 per cent to 5,700 tonnes.
The strength of European exports also contributed to the high figures. Shipments to Germany were up 25 per cent to 5,200 tonnes, while at 2,100 tonnes, exports to the Netherlands saw a 133 per cent increase. France remains the UK’s largest export market for lamb and mutton, with 50.4 per cent of shipments heading across the Channel.
Jean-Pierre Garnier, EBLEX export manager, said: “To export 47,000 tonnes of lamb in the first half of the year is a fantastic achievement. Traditionally, we tend to export more lamb in the autumn than in the first part of the year, particularly to Southern Europe. Although the performance may dip a little in the second half of this year, due to low availability and the poor lambing conditions in the spring, it should still make for a sparkling year for exports.
“What is reassuring is the wider spread of markets all performing well, not only France, China, Germany and the Netherlands, but also Belgium, Italy, and Norway. We also look forward to expanding our Third Country markets at a number of shows and missions in the autumn.”
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
