UK took 29% more beef from Brazil in first quarter

FIGURES from Customs and Excise in the UK reveal that in the first quarter of 2005, imports of Brazilian beef rose by 29%, while J Sainsbury, one of the largest supermarket chains, said it has almost doubled its South American beef sales.

The jump in imports has obvious consequences for the Irish beef industry, which relies on the UK market for nearly half its sales.

South American beef is widely blamed for the unprecedented summer beef price slump hitting farmers in Ireland and the UK. But the UK’s leading meat processor has downplayed its role.

Anglo Beef Producers, the UK subsidiary of Larry Goodman’s Irish Food Processors trading company, says ABP is packing some South American beef, but only a small proportion of the firm’s throughput, going mainly to the food service sector.

Instead, said managing director Richard Cracknell, the big feature of the UK beef market now is far more fat cattle coming forward than last year, because farmers no longer need to retain cattle to claim a 21-month premium.

“We killed 3,000 more cattle in June than the same month last year, an increase of 13%”, he revealed.