Despite Brexit fears and uncertainty, Ireland continues to be the largest market outlet within the EU for UK beef exports, according to the Livestock and Meat Commission in Northern Ireland.
The group published its analysis on Saturday (25 August) for UK beef exports, which found that 19,566 tonnes of beef was exported to Ireland during the first half of 2018.
Beef Trade
This, according to the report, accounts for 35% of the UK’s total beef exports and was a 22% increase from the same period the year before, which was 16,057 tonnes.
This year’s exports to Ireland was similar to the same period in 2016 when the UK exported 19,275 tonnes of beef to Ireland.
The Netherlands was the second biggest market for UK beef exports, with 13,284 tonnes exported, an increase of 32% on the prior year, and accounts for 24% of total UK beef exports to the EU.
UK exports to non-EU markets fell by 14%, despite being a noticeable improvement on 2016’s figures.
Food, Drinks & Brexit
The cost of importing and exporting goods to and from the UK has recently undergone plenty of speculation with Brexit becoming ever closer.
Last week, the UK government released its Technical Notices which aimed to prepare for the possibility of a no deal, however, UK food and drinks groups questioned the reports for the lack on information regarding Ireland.
The chief executive of the Food and Drink Federation in the UK said that there was no “substantive information” on mitigating the effect of 'no deal' on the island of Ireland, where the implications would be most significant.
The Technical Notices published by the government advised Northern Ireland businesses that trade across the border to contact the Irish government about potential preparations.
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
