New Zealand sheep and goat EU imports jump 18% in 2023

Sheep and goat imports from New Zealand to the EU jumped by 18% year-on-year in the first four months of 2023, according to new figures.

The latest Sheep Meat Dashboard from the European Commission also highlights that sheep and goat imports from the UK to the EU increased by 20% in the four months between January to April 2023, compared to the same period a year earlier.

According to the commission, imports account for 20% of the EU’s consumption of lamb, mutton and goatmeat with New Zealand traditionally the biggest supplier.

The latest dashboard also details the prices paid to EU sheep farmers up to week 29 (beginning Monday, July 17) and shows that for a heavy lamb (over 13kg carcass weight) the price was at 725.5c/kg – which is a 0.5% increase over the previous 12 months.

However, it is a lower amount compared to what Irish farmers received in comparison to the EU average, as the base prices for spring lambs in week 29 was 690c/kg.

Sheep Meat Dashboard

The dashboard also shows that Ireland accounted for 9% of the sheep slaughtered in the EU in 2022.

This was equivalent to 3.19 million sheep which was significantly lower than many other European countries including Spain, which recorded 26% of the total sheep slaughtered in 2022.

The EU dashboard also shows that sheep slaughtering in Ireland up to April 2023 was 4.1% higher than 2022, with a total of 22,700t in sheep carcass weight produced.

Romania provided the highest sheep slaughtering figures, as it recorded 45,000t in sheep carcass weight production during this period, while ultimately achieving a 5.5% lower total than 2022.

The largest percentage drop was seen in Bulgaria, as it saw a 46.8% drop in the tonnes in sheep carcass weights arising from sheep slaughterings up to April 2023.

Spain and France both recorded decreases in the tonnes of sheep carcass weights produced up to April 2023 – during this period they had a 9.3% and a 9.9% drop respectively.

Imports

From January to April 2023, the sheep and goat trade between the EU and the UK consisted of the EU importing sheep and goat carcass weights of 31,433t from the UK.

This figure consisted of 29,580t from Great Britain (GB), with 1,853t from Northern Ireland (NI).

The live sheep and goat imports from the UK totalled 105,863 head, with 34 coming from GB, and the remaining 105,829 being imported from NI.

The main importers of sheep and goat products up to April 2023 were:

1. China and Hong Kong;
2. US;
3. EU;
4. UK;
5. Malaysia.

Exports

From January to April 2023, the EU exported a total of 6,047t of sheep and goat carcass weights to the UK. This figure consisted of 5,532t to GB, with 515t to NI.

The live exports from the UK totalled 416 head, with 32 going to GB, and the remaining 384 going to NI.

The main exporters of sheep and goat products up to April 2023 were:

1. Australia;
2. New Zealand;
3. Uruguay;
4. EU;
5. Kenya.