UK pork and beef imports plummet on weaker currency

There has been a big drop in beef and pork imports into the UK in response to sterling's weakness on international currency markets.

Figures just out show a 17,161-tonne decline in the amount of beef shipped into the UK in 2009 to 230,318 tonnes. While pork imports plummeted by 33,485 tonnes to 359,983, but the amount of bacon and ham sent to Britain was up 19,634 tonnes to 312,344.

The figures from HM Revenue and Customs recorded substantial falls in the amount of beef imported from Ireland (-5,091 tonnes) and Brazil (-3,327 tonnes).

Brazil's shipments at 3,016 tonnes were but a shadow of the 25,871-tonne trade that there was in 2007 before Europe virtually banned beef from the country because of foot-and-mouth fears. Several nations, however, won more trade, notably Uruguay which was up 1,120 tonnes to 15,626 tonnes, and Australia which sent 5,221 tonnes, a 290-tonne rise.

Imports of processed beef collapsed by 38,621 tonnes to 48,014 tonnes, of which Ireland showed the biggest loss at 30,017 tonnes.

British beef exports in January were down 7% to 7,300 tonnes, although the value of them at GBP22million was at the same level as 2009. The trade to Ireland was down 20% to 2,200 tonnes, while the Dutch market was up 9% to 2,732 tonnes.

Meanwhile, Denmark's trade in pork to the UK fell from 148,688 tonnes to 99,651 tonnes. The Dutch benefited from that as they showed 10,753-tonne gain to 52,745 tonnes. Irish imports were also up from 37,321 tonnes in 2008 to 42,863 tonnes in 2009.

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) said that in January beef imports at 17,500 tonnes had risen 1% year-on-year.

Ireland had a 3% rise to 11,430 tonnes, while supplies from Germany and the Netherlands fell 40%. Uruguay's trade was up 37% to 1,644 tonnes, while Brazil accounted for just 245 tonnes. What Denmark lost in pork shipments it certainly gained in bacon and ham as that trade rose 25,176 tonnes to 137,773 tonnes.